Features / One Question Interviews

Matt (Audacity)

SPB: As a California band, what do you think of winter touring?

Matt: Touring in winter can be very exciting. People appreciate the fact that you drive through bad conditions to hang out and play with other bands. That being said, we have been stuck in -33 degree weather in the middle of Montana for 2 days, which is a …

Al Swacker (DJ, UnMutuals, Devil Baby Freak Show, SVK)

SPB: What is your favorite venue, past or present, to play or attend a show at?

Swacker: My favorite venue? Wow, not an easy question. I can think of 6 that come to mind right away and each is for different reasons. 

I could say the Pageant in St Louis or the …

Allen Maier (American Scarecrows, drums)

SPB: Do you wear earplugs when you play? Why/why not?

Maier: I have heard people say they wish they took better care of their hearing when they were younger. Playing almost every day I was getting tired of trying to fall asleep while my ears were ringing. The more I was playing the worse it got, I …

Tristan Shone (Author and Punisher)

SPB: You are building your own instruments and that is quite impressive on its own. How do you go about building those “Drone/Dub Machines?” 

Shone: It is a long process where I initially have an idea of a sound and also a motion that I think would be satisfying to marry to that sound. When …

Matt (Animal Style Records)

SPB: What was the first punk show you attended?

Matt: Does this count? Mayfest in ‘98 at the University of Redlands: Blink 182, The Aquabats, Home Grown, Assorted Jelly Beans

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 …

Chris Reifert (Autopsy/Violation Wound)

SPB: What’s the best movie you’ve seen this year?

Reifert: 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 …

Pontus (Agrimonia)

SPB: What makes death metal - or metal in general - so prevalent in Sweden?

Pontus: I think there is a huge music interest in general in Sweden. This might have to do with that it’s easy to pick up and learn an instrument at an early age thanks to Sweden’s community music school, so many people who …

Shannon T. Moore (Activator, lead singer)

SPB: How did you “discover” punk rock?

Moore: I discovered punk rock on few different occasions in a few stages of my life. Starting with all of the media hype of the Sex Pistols and all of the times Sid Vicious was in the news. I remember seeing a clip of them doing "Anarchy …

Kevin Baker (All Pigs Must Die)

SPB: What is your favorite thing about international touring?

Baker: In my opinion, traveling to different regions and absorbing the culture is the greatest thing anyone can ever do in life. I really miss that part of being in a band and am real fortunate I got to do it when I did. I …

Rich Hinks (Aeon Zen)

SPB: What makes a band "progressive"?

Hinks: Progressive music, to me, is more of a mindset than a determined style. More often than not it means being able experiment and to allow the music to go wherever it naturally wants to. It's like its own organism. Of course there are certain staples that can help categorise …

Alan Licht (Solo, Run On, The Pacific Ocean, more)

SPB: What is your least favorite genre of music? Is there an artist who is an exception to that rule?

Licht: Opera is my least favorite genre of music (meaning traditional western classical opera, not including Peking Opera, or certain avant garde operas like Einstein on the Beach or some of …

Andrew Burnes (San Agustin, Haunted House, SATMC)

SPB: What is your all-time favorite record (and why)?

Burnes: I'd like to think that my tastes are broad and deep, but the one record that immediately comes to mind upon reading that question is probably not an unusual answer: the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Are You Experienced. The first music that really …

Asgeir Aarøen (Aesgir & Mo)

SPB: What got you interested in the flamenco guitar?

Aarøen: I first saw flamenco guitar live at the age of 26, back in 1998 I think, when I lived in Oslo, the capitol of Norway. At this time I played mostly classical guitar and had a past as a rock/metal guitarist for many years. I …

BJ Rochinich (Ancient Shores, SPB columnist)

SPB: What got you interested in film beyond casual observation?

Rochinich: I took a psychology of cinema class in college that showed me what I'm seeing when watching a film. The audio and cinematography that construct a film can be looked at closely to gain a better grasp on the intent of the film. …

Adam DeGross (photographer, Pay Attention)

SPB: What is the hardest part about taking photos in a rock club or basement?

DeGross: The hardest part about taking photos in a standard rock club depends. If it's a really big band, the hardest thing to do is to just get permission to do photos. For example, I did photos at the …

Amy Oden (filmmaker, From the Back of the Room)

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

Oden: Rise Above (the Tribe 8 documentary) is probably my favorite music-related documentary, because it illustrates how the band's politics informed their performance.

Greg (Among Giants)

SPB: How many vans have you had? (Any stories?)

Greg: We've been using my Mom's minivan to travel around for the past two tours, but we're finally getting our own minivan this summer so we can tour a bunch more. One time Zach ripped the door handle right off of the door of my Mom's minivan. He …

Aidan Baker (Nadja)

SPB: Other than music, what other art forms interest you?

Baker: I would say all other art forms interest me, but I guess that's probably a vaguer answer than you would like...So I guess I'd say literature is my second passion after music, both reading and writing. I grew up in a family that played music and …

Jeff Clayton (Antiseen)

SPB: What is your favorite all-time record and why?

Clayton: Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies. It was one of the first three records I ever owned in 1973 (the other two were Three Dog Night & Grand Funk) and after one play I was never the same. It shaped who/what I would become years later. “Sick …