Matt (Rosetta)
SPB: Do you run your own website, facebook, twitter, etc? Do you enjoy that aspect of the industry?
Matt: Yeah, I do all of it (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr posts & question box, website), though occasionally some of the other guys answer questions on our Tumblr or Twitter.
I have a love/hate relationship with social media. On the one hand, being able to connect directly with the most engaged fans is awesome. I love answering people's questions with no intermediary and no delay. I think having ongoing significant conversation, even if it's “just on the internet,” really enriches the musician/listener relationship--it makes it dynamic instead of one-way. Besides, let's face it, most people live on the internet now anyway, so you need to go where people are if you want to talk to them.
On the other hand, I hate how easy it is to be misunderstood. You can't please everyone, and you can't answer every question. There are language and cultural disconnects to navigate. Sooner or later someone gets bent out of shape. A couple years ago I realized that I was automatically developing this set of rules in the back of my mind about how to talk to people over social media. It's turned into such a refined “technique” that sometimes I feel like it's not really me that's talking to people anymore, it's my internal social media algorithm or something. I hate the idea of being circumscribed by a “brand,” but I know that I behave like a machine on social media. You have no choice but to cultivate a persona---even when that persona consists of "we're just regular people like you"---no matter how real it is, it still has to be carefully constructed.
Trevor Reilly (A Wilhelm Scream)
SPB: When you built your studio, what was the primary, driving concept you wanted to make sure you could capture as far as acoustics?
Reilly: The most important thing we tried to do while remodeling the studio was to make sure that the acoustics didn't work against us! We have a room with low ceilings and small dimensions compared to the "big boys" facilities, so we focused our efforts on absorption and control since the low end bass frequencies can pile up and royally fuck up the tones your trying to capture. There are tons of essays and books and articles on room modes, flutter echoes, suggested room ratios, etc. out all over the internet and beyond that we just devoured trying to get a handle on that sweet sweet science. And I could study that shit for another twenty years and still not scratch the surface that shit is so crazy. And it could make you insane. That's why some dudes get paid the big bucks to tune rooms. Anyway, ultimately, at the end of the day all that matters is what you hear during playback and sometimes you gotta remind yourself that it's so easy to get bogged down by the technical stuff and to make sure to focus your efforts on playing and writing good songs case that's the most importing thing. It's the reason we're all here!
Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu)
SPB: What part of your live show is the hardest on sound engineers?
Stewart: Getting the vocals loud enough in the monitors. We have really loud stage volume as I like to be pummeled sonically and we use a drum machine. There are almost always some issues with feedback but we work them out. I need to have the voice be really loud so I am not singing harder than I need to hear myself. This leads to blowing out my voice.
This is a very juvenile problem, but I do not care. It has to be loud.
Evan Jacobs (Orange County Scenester – director)
SPB: Who is your favorite band discovered in the process of filming Orange County Scenester?
Jacobs: Since I was making a memoir on a scene of bands that I was, in many ways, intimately involved with, there wasn't that a band that I discovered during the making of the film.
What I did discover was, after reviewing and reviewing tapes, I could see where some of the iconic pictures had been taken on some of the albums I listened to. Or, I was able to see a show that had been talked about for years but I was not there to witness. Lastly, as the process of discovery continued, I would go through footage I had seen previously. As I watched it, my mind would be reminded of things that I had heard happened before or after the show I was watching. It might even be something happening on screen simultaneously that wasn't captured on camera. So I would watch a show with a completely different perspective because I understood better why what I was seeing on screen was happening.

July 15 Reggie's -- Chicago, IL
July 16 Agora Theatre -- Cleveland, OH
July 17 Hard Luck Bar -- Toronto, ON
July 18 Belle Pub -- Belleville, ON
July 19 Rockaganza! Festival -- Drummondville, QC
July 20 The Dover Brickhouse -- Dover, NH
July 22 Bogies -- Albany, NY
July 23 The Legendary Dobbs -- Philadelphia, PA
July 24 The Middle East -- Cambridge, MA
July 25 The Grand Victory -- Brooklyn, NY
July 26 The Brighton Bar -- Long Branch, NJ

Nate (Banner Pilot)
SPB: What is the hardest thing about touring in foreign countries? Last year (2 years ago?) you played in Russia…
Nate: I'm having a hard time answering this. Touring foreign countries is easy! I find it to be much easier than touring the States. You have someone driving for you, the language barrier is never that bad, they have a place set up for you to stay every night, the shows are incredible, the people are friendly...hell, I was going to say it's a little tricky being a vegetarian but then I remembered that half the shows *cook (awesome) vegan food for you*. 
I guess if I had to pick something, it would be the upfront prep work. Once you get there, it's great-- maybe we've been lucky, or maybe that's the norm, I don't know. But nothing really "bad" has happened to us. But it takes a lot longer, and requires more work, to get the whole thing set up than if you were just doing some dates in the US. I mean, in order to get into Russia we had to mail our passports to some place, and hope that they would send them back. Iowa never makes us do stuff like that.
These are minor things, though. Really, the hardest thing about touring foreign countries is coming home. (See what I did there?)
Chris Reifert (Autopsy/Violation Wound)
SPB: What’s the best movie you’ve seen this year?
Chris: The best movie ever made is The Dark Backward. It didn't come out this year, nor did I see it for the first time this year. But mark my words, it's warped, dark, weird and I love the hell out of it! A total fave for the ages.
Al Jourgensen (Ministry)
SPB: Is there a sample you’ve tried to get the rights to use but were denied?
Al: ALL OF THEM.... Just kidding. Actually the biggest sample pain in the ass was on Houses of the Molé with the use of Carmina Burana on “No W.” It was a nightmare. We'd reached out to the publisher via Sanctuary's contacts and had gotten an initial okay, but then the record came out and all of a sudden the publisher sent a Cease and Desist letter to Sanctuary about the sample after 30,000 units had been pressed. I had to go back in the studio and re-do the track and a second pressing was made. Then I found out later, it was ‘cause Capital One wanted an exclusive on the use of Carmina Burana and you KNOW they were paying the big bucks. And that fucking Capital One commercial played over and over. Every time I turned on the TV it was that Capital One commercial with Carmina Burana.
Clint (Organized Crime Records)
SPB: How much space in your house is dedicated to music storage (albums or instruments)?
Clint: I would say that overall about 60% of my place is consumed with music. I have been a long time avid collector.
 
Funny thing: I am dealing with music storage issues right now. Having a label means there are always boxes of records around which can make one feel very claustrophobic. I think that over the years I have been able to get that aspect under control. My biggest problem is housing my personal collection. I wanted to have some shelves made up to better fit in my place but the quotes came in at utterly absurd amounts. So my father, the mad genius that he is, came up with making shelves out of electrical conduit. So over the last few weekends we have been making it up and it has been a lot of fun. I hope to have it done over 4th of July weekend. I have to thank my father. Instead of his response being [that] I could get rid of records he came up with a very cool plan. Thanks Dad.

Tour Dates
July 14 - Austin, TX - Club 1808
July 15 - Denton , TX - Rubber Gloves
July 16 - Kansas City, KS - Fokl Center
July 17 - Saint Louis, MO - The Punk House
July 18 - Chicago, IL - The Mouse Trap
July 19 - Milwaukee, WI - The Uptowner
July 21 - Cincinnati, OH - The Fickle Ramp Room
July 22 - Dayton, OH - The South Park Tavern
July 23 - Boston, MA - Obrien's Pub
July 24 - Providence, RI - Penny Gaff
July 25 - Buffalo, NY - Summer Scum Fest
July 26 - New York, NY - Death By Audio
July 27 - New York, NY - The Red Light District
July 28 - Allentown, PA - Good Weekend
July 29 - Baltimore, MD - Gold Bar
July 30 - Memphis, TN - Murphy's
August 1 - Houston, TX - Mangos

Sims and Hilltop Hoods
08.28 San Francisco, CA
08.29 Madison, WI
09.03 Kansas City, MO
09.04 Boulder, CO
09.05 Denver, CO
09.06 Fort Collins, CO
09.07 Park City, UT
09.09 Hollywood, CA
09.11 Seattle, WA
09.12 Vancouver, BC
09.13 Victoria, BC
09.15 Whistler, BC
09.17 Banff, AB
09.18 Edmonton, AB
09.19 Calgary, AB
09.20 Saskatoon, SK
09.24 Montreal, QC
09.25 Toronto, ON
09.27 Brooklyn, NY
09.28 Cambridge, MA
Dessa Tour Dates
9/18 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
9/19 - Toronto, ON --Lee's Palace
9/20 - Montreal, QC -- Vitrola
9/21 - NYC - Le Poisson Rouge
9/22 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
9/23 - Washington DC - Black Cat
9/25 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
9/27 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
9/28 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
Parts of Speech, Re-Edited Track listing
1. Fighting Fish (The Hood Internet Remix)
2. Warsaw (Cecil Otter Remix)
3. Call Off Your Ghost (Lazerbeak x Ryan Olson COMMITTEE Remix)
4. Fighting Fish (Dustin Kiel Remix)
5. Warsaw (Budo Remix)
6. It's Only Me (The Year of the Horse Remix)
7. It's Only Me (Grant Cutler Remix)
8. Skeleton Key (Youngblood Brass Band Remix)