Features / One Question Interviews

Freeman (Benny the Jet Rodriguez - vocals/guitar)

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

Freeman: I do wear ear plugs. For a long time I used to wear construction headphones at practice and on stage. Once I saved up enough I bought custom noise canceling earplugs that helped level out noise for me. I've had hearing issues …

Michal Palmer (Bilinda Butchers)

SPB: Was there a historical or real-life inspiration behind the concept for Heaven?

Palmer: Yes, both. The album's concept was inspired by various works of Lafcadio Hearn as well as some travel diaries written between the 15th and 20th Century in Japan, researched and written about by Donald Keene. I became very interested in one …

Botanist

SPB: In the recent years you have included musicians in order to perform live as Botanist. I wonder if that change has also affected your songwriting in any way? Do you compose now having a more clear idea that these songs will be played live?

Botanist: The backlog of material written and recorded as a 1-man outfit is still …

Ty Vaughn (Broadway Calls)

SPB: What band has the best logo of all time?

Vaughn: The Ramones. I'm biased for two reasons. 1) I love this band and always will. 2) I met and hung out with Arturo Vega for the summer of 2008 while we were on Warped Tour together. He was a fascinating guy with amazing stories, and …

Brickfight

SPB: How big is your record collection?

Brickfight: Short Answer: 732

Long Answer: In a Cold War-style escalation which stems primarily from a missing copy of I Farm's Sincerely, Robots lent to Jonathan by Nick well over four years ago, all record players have gone quiet in the Brickfight camp. While neither party will admit to being the last …

Josh Zanger (Bloodshot Records)

SPB: The covers compilation for your 20th anniversary is rather extensive. When did you start work on gathering the cooperating artists?

Zanger: Everyone on staff made lists of acts that we’d love to hear cover Bloodshot artists - past and present - back in late 2013. Our collective list was pretty massive and had bands on …

Mark (Brown Brogues)

SPB: Assuming that you're not playing a show, what is a typical Saturday night for Brown Brogues? What does it involve?

Mark: If we're flush with cash we would go out in Manchester and drink posh cocktails and prosecco. If not so flush we would drink cheap beers at each other houses then go to a gig.

So I …

Krigeist (Barshasketh)

SPB: What are the origins for the name of the band? 

Krigeist: Barshasketh was something I read years ago in an occult text around the time I was composing the first demo. It refers to a subconscious pit of destruction relating to self-advancement.

Christian Määttä (Bombshell Rocks)

SPB: How has your local music scene changed since you were last active?

Määttä: Well, the majority of us live in other cities today so it's hard to keep up with the local scene in Västerås where we are from. But I know there is a new generation of kids struggling to make themselves a name. …

Big Dick

SPB: What do your parents think of your band name?

Johnny: My parents believe I haven't left my basement since 1997. I really have them going.
Dave: I tell my parents the band is called Big Richard…they have a very uncertain and vague idea of my hobbies anyway.

Jason Zabby (Big Action Records, Raw Nerves)

SPB: How has the increasingly digitalization of music changed your listening habits?

Zabby: Digitalized music, especially streams, have helped me discover tons of new music. I get lost on Bandcamp for hours, just clicking my way through band after band. With that said, all of this band surfing has lined my record collection …

Ben Snakepit (cartoonist)

SPB: Who is your favorite flyer artist?

Snakepit: My favorite flyer artist is Jack Barfield at Neolithic Print. He does flyers for most of the big hardcore shows here in Austin. He has a very distinct, bold style that is unmistakable when you see it (he's responsible for all of the Chaos in Tejas posters) and he …

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, …

Mike (Beartrap)

SPB: How do you primarily find new music these days?

Mike: The Internet. There are thousands of music blogs dedicated to whatever little niche of hardcore/punk/ whatever you subscribe to. A lot of people fight the digital age but it does help in a lot of ways too.

Dan Abbott (Bobby Joe Ebola)

SPB: What is the furthest you've traveled to play a single show (vs setting up a corresponding tour)?

Abbott: Driving or flying? Somewhere around 1997 or so, we were contacted by a private college in Ohio. They offered us $900 to come play in their student events hall. Our tech-bubble housemate had the weekend off …

Billy West (voice actor, Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, many more)

SPB: You've also played music in your past and you do some singing ("Shut Up and Love Me") in Futurama. How much creative say do you have when your characters create music?

West: Most of the music was always written for us and we sang exactly what Ken Keeler …

Clifford Dinsmore (BL'AST!)

SPB: When you found the Blood tapes, did you think it was possible to remaster them to the point you achieved with the final released product?

Dinsmore: We never imagined it would sound as heavy as it does now! But, when you consider all the contributing factors, like Will's tracks being brought back to life, and all …

Jesse (The Black Lantern)

SPB: How do you choose your album art?

Jesse: Our music is trying to be chaotic but still have a common thread of rhythm. We were all drawn to glitch art and started following Rob Sheridan and also the Year of the Glitch tumblr. We got apps on the phones, most importantly Decim8, and started making …

Greg Attonito (Bouncing Souls)

SPB: What makes a good roadie? Have you ever done it?

Attonito: A good roadie cares about the band and making the show go as smoothly as possible. It’s always best when the roadies and band guys enjoying hanging out because 90% of the time you spend on tour is together. If we are all creating …

Daniel (Bad Sports)

SPB: Who is the best band in Denton right now?

Daniel: The answer is obvious, Bad Sports. In fact, if you asked me who the best band in the world is, the answer would be Bad Sports. There's none better, none greater, and none better looking. We are the be all, end all of good music. Look …