Features / One Question Interviews

Bobby Kapp

SPB: You (and Matthew Shipp) come from two different eras of the NY free jazz scene. What did you discover in your recording sessions, about either the past and the present of the scene?

Kapp: Although there is twenty years between us and each era is different, there are very similar aspects.

One is the level of …

Bruce Lamont (Brain Tentacles)

SBP: You have a dense and complex sound, heavily featuring jazz influences and an extreme metal basis. Since you are all heavily involved in the more experimental edge of the heavy spectrum, what do you feel like is the next step for the sound of Brain Tentacles?

Lamont: 2017 is the year that we are gonna …

Drew Riekman (Blessed – guitar/vocals)

SPB: What is your favorite 1990s artist?

Riekman: When I received the email, the first question I asked myself was “Is this the favourite 1990's artist in relation to myself, or in relation to our band?” I settled on selecting someone that relates more to the band than how I personally feel. Even though it's probably …

Steve & Bryan (Breakin’ Even Fest)

SPB: How are you approaching Fest #2 differently than #1?

Breakin' Even: We definitely focused on making Breakin' Even Fest All Ages this year. Last year, all ages were admitted, but needed a chaperone.

We also expanded our lineup beyond just East Coast bands, including Sidekicks from Ohio and Pkew Pkew Pkew from Toronto. …

Adrian Tenney (Badlands, ex-Spokenest)

SPB: How did you get started in Badlands?

Tenney: Badlands (as a solo project) started when playing my music with other people ended.

I had been writing music in numerous other bands with my friends, and although it was super fun, it was always very hard to coordinate! Gradually it became more difficult, or impossible to …

Bong Mountain

SPB: What’s your favorite protest song?

Bong Mountain: The serious, educational, and inspirational protest songs that have helped me through tough times just aren't enough right now -- they don't perfectly convey my anger towards the current state of things.

There isn't one song, but a full album”

Galactic Cannibal's "We're Fucked" is a statement within …

Curran Reynolds (Body Stuff)

SPB: Do you make a conscious decision to reference or deviate from past material when working on Body Stuff?

Reynolds: The Body Stuff approach is to make music from the gut, without consciously thinking about any other music at all. After it's made, then I can reflect and say, "Hey, this sounds like it's referencing this …

Ryan Fleming (Black Table) 

SPB: What is the most tiresome stereotype about black metal?

Fleming: We don't consider ourselves Black Metal, but I'll speak about how I view scenes in general. It's similar to Animal Farm. It begins as an exciting rebellion against the confinement and closed thinking of a situation, but it eventually becomes the same thing. …

Tom (Bossk)

SPB: What song would you want played at your funeral? 

Tom: "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd.  It's my favorite song of all time.

Stacey Dee (Bad Cop/Bad Cop)

SPB: How did you hook up with Fat?

Dee: I was playing pool with Fat Mike after a Loved Ones show that my old band opened for.  We were at the Eagle in San Francisco.  I made him a bet and if I won he was to write a song I got to sing on.  …

Brian Cullman

SPB: After working in film, journalism, and other aspects of the industry, what called you back to performing and recording original music?

Cullman: I love working in movies, but there’s a part of the process that is just soul-destroying. On most movies, even low budget ones, there’s so much money involved, and so many people who need to be …

Black Black Black

SPB: How do you approach writing/recording a song with a guest vocalist, such as “Let’s Bloodlet” with Dave Curran? 

Jason Byers (vocals): Dave and I have been friends for over 20 years. We first met in Cleveland, Ohio at the legendary Speak in Tongues venue in 1995. Dave was on tour playing bass with Unsane. My band Disengage …

Brain Vacation

SPB: Ecstasy, meth, or ludes? 

BV: We don't do drugs all that often, but our singer has seen Phish play a few times so there's definitely something going on there. We never really expected to release that information into the world, but there it is. Please go do lots of meth and listen to our new record.

Benjamin Finger

SPB: Do you have a somewhat clearcut idea of what you want to do when composing and/or producing your music, or are you more inclined to just "let things flow" and be more improvisational?

Finger: First of all, the answer is a multi-sided one. When it comes to composing and producing music (in my case) it seems to …

Bruno Sanfilippo

SPB: Though things like bandcamp have made it easier for artists to release music, I can't help but think that there are many out there who, like the main character in the film Mr. Holland's Opus, tirelessly work on writing and composing yet have no clue how to go about releasing their work to the public.  

What …

Kate Eldridge (Big Eyes)

What is the most annoying recurring thing you read about your band (whether accurate or not)?

I am really bothered by the term "female fronted." Being a "FEMALE" has nothing to do with the music I write and play. It also sounds so unnecessarily scientific. Nobody says "MALE FRONTED" or asks how it is to be a …

Kris (Boilerman – bass)

SPB: What’s your favorite format of release (7”, LP, etc)?

Kris: I think the 7" is a great format, physically speaking. Its layout space is pretty easy to fill nicely, but storing 7-inches isn't as nice. They're so hard to rifle through and they get lost amongst each other easier -- smaller packages, no spine, etc. …

Nathan Gray (solo, Boysetsfire)

SPB: Can you like a musician whose politics you disagree with?

Gray: Can you? Yes. Should you? Well, that is up to the individual. There are many hymns that I rather enjoy, but do not agree at all with the content. I am also not a huge fan of limiting ones musical experience due to questionable …

Jim (Boilerman)

SPB: What’s with the numerical song titles on the EP? 

Jim: The deal with the numerical song titles for the 10" is two-fold.  First, all the songs on the record deal with really similar subject matter -- they're all more or less about different facets of existential anxiety. I also feel like the songs flow together in such a …

Brian Campeau

SPB: What is your favorite album cover of all time?

Campeau: I'm a big fan of a photo which tells a story, whether or not you understand that story. By this I mean a photo that keeps you looking at it and the more you look at it the more you discover. 

Hipgnosis (the guys who did the …