Features / One Question Interviews

Arik Victor (Goddamnit)

SPB: Who is your favorite Philadelphia band of all time? 

Victor: Kid dynamite.

The Berserker Blóthar (GWAR)

SPB: GWAR has an elaborate live show, to put it mildly. Is there a particular venue that stands out to you as a challenge for your live show that ultimately turned out to make it more unique in a good way?

The Berserker Blóthar: Tacoland in San Antonio, Texas. We were just getting started and played …

Victor Dowgiallo (Grizzlor)

SPB: You just released a collection of b-sides and rarities. Did you use any specific techniques in mixing to get a steady sound when merging different recording sessions?

Dowgiallo: No, I didn't use any special techniques, I just basically went into the old mixes and touched them up in a way with some things I had …

Gus Englehorn

SPB: Assuming the album name, Dungeon Master, is a D&D allusion: what is your favorite pop-culture reference during the recent D&D revival?

Englehorn: I got the name for the album from this guy who came up to me after a show I played. He told me that my lyrics reminded him of playing Dungeons and Dragons. He …

Mike Moderski (Greylock)

SPB: What’s the most overrated guitar feature?

Moderski: Guitar strings. There’s so much hype that goes into branding when really they’re just tiny metal cables. Expensive or not, if you play hard enough and sweat your strings will rust.

Justin Smith (Graf Orlock – guitar/vocals)

SPB: When you play live, what is your preferred guitar/amp combo? (And why that setup?)

Smith: In Graf Orlock I use a Gibson Les Paul with custom made humbuckers which are wound hotter than normal. This runs through an original model Peavey 5150 and an Orange Rockerverb 100. These go into two separate cabinets: …

Al Smith (Geld-vocals)

SPB: What is the most overrated guitar feature?

Smith: It may seem rich to bemoan something Geld has casually lent on in our last few records, but the “howl of cicadas” guitar tone feels pretty played out at this point. I mean, don’t get me wrong, a big come to Jesus moment for me was hearing those …

Gino Bambino (Gino and the Goons)

SPB: Walk our readers through your kit and offer insight as to how you arrived at your sizes (shells and cymbals).  

Gino: I have a 1966 set of Champagne sparkle Ludwig drums. It’s not worth much due to the fact they made so many at that time and the shape it’s in now. …

Noel (Grumpster – drums)

SPB: You just released a new 7", following last year's full-length. What is your favorite format of record (EP vs LP) to listen to as a fan?

Noel: LPs! We feel like a longer release can be more cohesive, and indicative of the artist(s) at the time of release; an LP can almost define an artist. …

Jim Blaha (Green/Blue)

SPB: What guitar model do you play with Green/Blue, and how did you choose that one for this project?

Blaha: I play a fender telecaster for Green/Blue ‘cause it's just classic. It has so much character especially in the high/mids. When I started writing music for the band I wanted it to be as stripped down as …

Greg Antista (Greg Antista & the Lonely Streets)

SPB: You’ve seen a lot of changes (and cycles) in the music scene. What stands out to you as a constant both when you started and today? 

Antista: The common denominator in the music that has moved me over my lifetime is powerful songwriting with a hook you can’t get out of …

Gnaw

SPB: Was the mic’ing of your diverse instrumentation fairly straightforward when you recorded the new EP, or were there some things you and the engineer did to find the right mics or experiment with sounds?

Brian Beatrice: The creative process behind Gnaw is always about trying to push instruments, production, and the recording process beyond the conventional limits. For …

Chris (Glare Of The Sun)

SPB: Your record Theia is over an hour long. To contrast that: what is your favorite record of around twenty minutes and what would you take from that record to Glare Of The Sun?

Chris: Twenty minutes seems tough first, but it's not, if you spent your youth with hardcore/punk or grindcore like Martin and …

Russ (Good Riddance)

SPB: What do you remember of playing your first live show?

Russ: I remember it being euphoric, the sense of watching people move and go crazy to the music my band was playing. 

We weren’t very good at our instruments then, but it didn’t seem to matter. 

Almost our entire set consisted of Sex Pistols covers I’d …

Martin Defatte (Guerilla Ghosts)

SPB: Who is your favorite artist to see live?

Defatte: My favorite artist to see live these days would have to be Carnage the Executioner. Living in the Twin Cities, Milwaukee ends up being a tour stop for him a few times a year. I first saw him... must be 13-14 years ago now. Lately, he's …

Good Touch

SPB: What do your parents think of your music? (Related: Are they likely to read this?) 

Adrien: My mom has always been supportive. Like a lot of older folks, she wishes we'd write a "one hit wonder," haha.

She's more likely to read it if I show it to her.

Jason: They appreciate my musical ability, but they're …

Al (Geld – vocals)

SPB: Given that records get distributed on the internet with a global reach, and influences come in with a global reach, do you find it difficult to establish an “Australian” sound, or is it not a factor in your music? 

Al: While we do have some civic pride for Australian music (one of the few Australian …

Jeffrey Tucholski (Gentle Leader XIV)

SPB: What was your favorite band in high school? Do they influence your songwriting or ethics in any measurable way today?

The three of us all went to high school in the mid to late ‘90s so, as one might guess, there was no shortage of legit terrible music to listen in that era that has since …

Cormy (Geld)

SPB: What is a hyped band, TV show, or movie that you just can’t get into?

Cormy: Not really interested in the daily churn of the hype machine. More interested in anti-hype and the macro ways in which that's influencing culture. Through my work I frequently encounter the ways (some subtle & complex, others dumb & bludgeoning) in …

Till Lemoine (Guerilla Poubelle-vocals/guitar)

SPB: What is the furthest you’ve ever traveled to see a show (and who/where was it)?

Till: I guess the furthest I traveled for a show was going to Fest 9 in Florida in 2010. It was a long trip from Paris just to see some punk shows! I remember that my family teamed up to pay me …