Features / One Question Interviews

Charlie Harper (UK Subs)

SPB: As someone who is used to performing and being on stage, how has the book release process been similar or different than playing music to fans?
 
Harper: It’s a bit of both but as I’ve made a few records, the book is so much more exciting, a new feeling.

Although you can’t …

Beth Seymour (Beth Seymour & The Lizzies – vocals / guitar / production)

SPB: You’re essentially releasing back-to-back albums this year. How did you choose that approach in getting these out to the public?

Seymour: There are a few reasons that I chose to release back-to-back albums within 3 months of each other this year. First, I locked …

Jeff “El Jeffe” Seeley (Brain Fog – guitar)

SPB: What is a record you love that would surprise people?

Seeley: Hi, It’s El Jeffe, guitarist and song writer for Brain Fog, an Okanagan hardcore punk band. My favourite punk rock record right now is Dancing With The Curse by Get Dead. Just the right amount of melody, harmony …

Hiroshi (Serotonin Mist)

SPB: The Bandcamp page on your new album states: No label, no producer. 100% DIY. Is DIY an important issue for Serotonin Mist (and why)? 

Hiroshi: I believe that being DIY has both good and bad sides. The good side is that we can control every aspect of our work and our band activities exactly …

Mark Boulanger (Massa Nera – drums/vocals)

SPB: What was your first live show?

Boulanger: Our first show was on 05/09/16 at The Meatlocker in Montclair, NJ. We played with Wastelands, Without, Yashira, and an insane NJ powerviolence band called Uncle Mark. 

If you aren't familiar, The Meatlocker is an absolutely legendary punk venue. It's grimy as hell …

Josh (East End Redemption)

SPB: If your band had to be sponsored by a completely random household product (like cereal, dish soap, lawnmower, etc.), which one would it be and why? 

Josh: We would be sponsored by Turtle Wax car wax because "I wanna pet, I wanna I pet, I wanna pet the turtle!" 

"Turtle" is off …

moja

SPB: How old were you when you learned your first instrument?

Masumi: My first instrument was YAMAHA Electone when I was five years old.

Haru: I’ve never actually had formal lessons -- I’m totally self-taught. I bought my first instrument back in junior high just to start a band with my friends. I didn’t even know …

Lauren (Broken Record)

SPB: What was your first tape/cd/record?

Lauren: The first CD I bought with my own money was No Strings Attached by *NSYNC, but perhaps more formative was my second CD, Green Day’s Nimrod.

Green Day went on to become one of my all time favorites, and I think Nimrod has some of their …

Eric Angelo Bessel

SPB: Walk us through your gear setup for the recording of Mirror at Night.

Eric: I composed the album, Mirror at Night, using a pair of digital Mellotrons (proto-sampling keyboards), an Alesis Micron (keyboard synthesizer), and guitars. The Micron is a new addition, and is the main instrument for songs “Scavengers” and “Headlamps.” …

Jake LeDrew (Dial Drive – guitar/vocals)

SPB: What is your favorite Dial Drive lyric? Why?

LeDrew: I'm going to go with a lyric off our new album. "You said you hate your life. Don't waste yours just take mine." That's in the chorus of our song "Second Chances" which will be the first track on our new album …

Jay (yokedevils)

SPB: What brought you back after a hiatus from making music? 

Jay: I never really stopped making music. Over the years I’ve been stockpiling everything from small riffs and weird scale runs to “feedback ideas” and full songs. I just haven’t been doing so publicly or with a band. Life got busy and different things took …

Josh (Flutter)

SPB: Where did you learn to drive and what kind of car was it?

Josh: My first car was a 1997 Ford Taurus, mint green with matching mint green seats. I learned to drive in the rolling countryside outside of Dubuque, Iowa, where a year later I would total that same car, hitting a fire hydrant …

Christine Atturio (Little Low)

SPB: What is your favorite Disney soundtrack?

Atturio: Aladdin, hands down. Robin Williams singing "Friend Like Me" is fire! The soundtrack as a whole goes from hopeful to scary to funny and back again, sometimes even sounding like the music from Indiana Jones when he's exploring the Cave of Wonders. Me and my …

McKinnon (Normal Park)

SPB: Your bio references math rock, [my opinion] one of the sillier genre names. Is there a music term you hear often that seems like it could have been phrased better?

Tyler: I don’t mind math rock as a genre term because it’s simple and descriptive, plus the music often can be a bit silly.

Alex Gilliam (Foolsmate)

SPB: What does the term “Midwest emo” mean to you?

Gilliam: After getting this question, I immediately asked the other guys in Foolsmate for their input. Though their answers varied drastically, they all touched upon inclusion. Midwest emo has always been about being vulnerable about yourself and experiences, and what makes the scene so special …

Matt Smasher (The Planet Smashers)

SPB: How did the collabs on the new album come to be? Did you reach out to the artist with a specific idea, or just ask “hey is there something you want to do here?”

Matt: It started out super simple, just a “would you be willing to do something on our album?” …

Laura (Fortitude Valley)

SPB: What do you remember, or alternately what stands out the most, about playing the first live show with Fortitude Valley?

Laura: It was January 2020, and I remember being very nervous about having to talk to the crowd and being the front person -- something that I still find nerve wracking! 

I wrote …

Cornelius (City Speak – bass / Keep it a Secret Records)

SPB What is the longest (in terms of time) tour that you have ever been on? Would you do it again?

Cornelius: We in City Speak don't do long tours -- work, pets, life, the usual. The longest we've been on tour was just 4 days. Lots …

Mike Hard (God Bullies)

SPB: Have you played any familiar locations that survived since your last tour and, if so, what struck you on revising them? If not, is there a city or highway that gave similar "flashbacks" or surprises?

Hard: The first city that comes to mind is Dubuque Iowa. Aaron Hefel has been booking shows for …

Cheap Fix

SPB: What’s the most MacGyver-esque workaround you’ve made to connect different bits of equipment?

Chad Nichols (guitar/vocals): You'd think with a name like Cheap Fix, we'd be all over this question. But I'm the least handy of the band members, so I've got next to nothing. All my tricks, for some reason, apply to guitar straps. …