Features / One Question Interviews

Martin Bisi 

SPB: There are all kinds of anniversary album/compilations out there. How did you choose this approach to celebration the milestone?

Martin: I didn't really see the milestone coming. Maybe it's because the date of that first Eno recording is an odd year - 1981. It wasn't until I got assaulted outside the studio, and bandmate Oliver Drew …

Edward Ricart (Monotrope)

SPB: Who is your favorite band to see live (currently active)?

Edward: Portland, Oregon's U Sco are an awesome band. These guys deliver all the muscle, power, and propulsion anyone could ever want, and essentially always have since we first saw them six years ago. Ryan Miller is an amazing, blistering guitarist, and Phil Cleary + Jon …

Dick Rubin (MINKA)

SPB: What is the worst stereotype of musicians that you encounter when people discover you’re in a band?

Dick: When people discover you’re in a band, they always think to themselves: “I bet he wouldn’t be a good accountant.” well, I’m here to tell you…that’s a bunch of hogwash.

I know all about credits and debits. I’m …

SPB: You and Bobby Kapp 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? 

Shipp: The great thing about music is that, even though we are all a specific product of the time and environment we come out of, occasionally …

Dustin Cole Hayes (Making New Enemies)

SPB: How much space in your house is dedicated to music storage (whether instruments or records)?

Hayes: Well, unfortunately for my roommates 50% of our basement is filled up with all my music and recording gear. Then that gear is matched by an equal amount of friend’s gear left and forgotten about over time. …

Magana

SPB: Do you get nervous before you play a show?

Magana: Yep!  There are 2 distinct phase of nervousness. The first one is my self-manager side. Did I do a good enough job with promotion? Should I be outside handing out flyers to the people passing by? Will anybody show up, or will I be playing to the person doing sound? And then immediately …

Andy (Magnetic Ghost)

SPB: What is the weirdest venue you’ve played a show at (or attended)?

Magnetic Ghost: Seattle house show that wasn't in a house, but was in a yard, complete with a tarp covered in dumpstered mashed fruit which everyone was encouraged to wrestle in / on after imbibing copious amounts of Carlo Rossi jug wine. Total anarcho hippie …

Mike Bell (Mike Bell & the Movies)

SPB: What was the best show you’ve seen in the past year? 

Bell: May 15th, 2015, Mac McCaughan and the Non Believers, Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA

I had kept myself away from the album ‘cause my plan was to purchase directly from Mac. Now to say Superchunk was a major influence in my …

Nick Sucks (Moonraker – bass/vocals)

SPB: Basements or bars?

Both. They both have their appeals and drawbacks. Basements are normally DIY and all ages, essentially a subterranean house show. Since we live in California, we love to play basements because those types of shows are pretty rare here. Cops aren't usually called because of the sound being contained in the …

Mega Ran

SPB: What is your favorite record store (either locally or a discovery while on the road)?

Mega Ran: It changes all the time, but a recent favorite is Lunchbox Records in Charlotte, NC. I'm not the biggest record collector, but this place had the largest and most diverse selection I'd seen out of a small store. New, old, …

MC Lars

SPB: What is the “ET/Atari” of NES games?

Lars: I would say a Boy and His Blob is the ET of Nintendo. It’s well-conceived, but difficult to play if you don’t know the “hacks” to get ahead. The world is very elaborate, but easy to get stuck, just like in the ET game. I remember all of my friends getting frustrated …

Matt (Moñecho)

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

Matt: Coherence.  No other movie I've seen really communicates an almost paralyzing amount of uncertainty.

Lionel Ziblat (Modest Midget)

SPB: Which music by classical composers do you think has held up the best into the 21st century? 

Lionel: Great question! Since it's also a great passion of mine to write for Classical instances (choirs, orchestras and chamber), I try to keep in touch with contemporary Classical music as well. You'll be amazed how much good …

Mike Stoloski (Ma Jolie – vocals/guitar)

SPB: Is there a particular interview question that you’d prefer to never  answer again?

Stoloski: Well, this is a hard question to answer. I feel bad criticizing the people who take the time to ask me questions about my music and sit through the rambling, incoherent answers I give back to then have to …

Matthew Ryan

SPB: Is there a regional food you look forward to when you tour?

Ryan: One of the best parts of touring is getting to enjoy the local culture and foods. My times in Italy stand as my favorite experiences, meal after meal. Late night focaccia fresh out of the oven in some ancient square to absorb a fair …

Dave Bate (Michael Crafter)

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

Bate: I can’t get into anything metalcore. The fact that it is so big in this country is actually embarrassing. It is the worst genre of metal ever created. Our band name and some lyrics are obviously a piss take on metalcore, its …

Frank Godla (Meek Is Murder)

SPB: What do you think of cassettes?

Godla: They will always have a special place in my heart. I started collecting music when cassettes were still the norm, and wound up with several hundred cassette and VHS tapes in my house. I’d even make my own mixtapes to carry around in my bag, equipped with …

John (Maybeshewill)

SPB: What are you most looking forward to on your upcoming first US tour? 

John: We’re still waiting to find out if we’ll be coming over, but it’s been an aim of ours for a really long time. We don’t take as much shit from anyone else as we do from American fans who want us to come …

Mike Keller (Meek Is Murder)

SPB: What do you think of cassettes?

Keller: Whenever people try to give us band demos on CD, I’m always like, “Sorry, we’re only set up for tapes.” Our van has a tape deck and for a while I had no way of playing CDs at home since my computer had the Aliens DVD stuck …

Curtis Meacham (Monkey-vocals)

SPB: What is something more people should know about the San Jose scene?

Meacham: San Jose is a pretty cool place. Its 45 minutes south of San Francisco and gets some of the biggest shows on off-nights because it's close enough to the City to catch major acts coming through.

San Jose and its surrounding South Bay …