Features / One Question Interviews

Jeremiah (Small Steps - guitar/vocals)

SPB: What song has the best use of whistling?

Jeremiah: I feel like the easy answer would be the Bobby McFerrin song "Don't Worry Be Happy". Which is catchy as all get out, but we prefer the road less traveled here in Small Steps. For fun, I'll go with a different pick. In …

Andrew Burgess (Skyway)

SPB: What is your favorite protest song?

Burgess: My favorite protest song? That's a tough one. I think it's impossible to talk about protest songs without mentioning the all-time greats that have held up over the years. I'm talking about songs like "We Shall Overcome," "We Will Not Be Moved," and "A Change is Gonna …

Shane Embury (Napalm Death, solo)

What is it like playing a solo set as an opener for "the Napalm Death" crowd (as compared to a solo set with an unfamiliar audience)? 

Playing the Dark Sky Burial set, I feel at times is a daunting task but the reception so far has been encouraging! It’s a chance to take …

Matthew Brammer (Six Below Zero)

SPB: Can you walk us through your studio or recording set-up to get a glimpse of how a one-man band works for Six Below Zero?

Brammer: Since I don't play live anymore, I'm pretty much 100% "in the box" these days. Especially since a lot of amp sims and digital tools have gotten …

Matthew Brammer (Six Below Zero)

SPB: Six Below Zero is both a solo project and you live in Wyoming, so I imagine you have limited live opportunities -- that said, does the project ever play live and does that possibility affect how you approach songwriting?

Brammer: Consistently playing live is, and always has been, a challenge in my …

Derek (Static Friction)

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

Derek: Oh boy, I just so happen to have a good answer for this one. My wife and I have been planning an Italy trip for about a year and a half and just shifted it from next …

Sublunar Express

SPB: What is the weirdest description you’ve heard of your music? Could you see where the commenter was coming from?

Sublunar Express: The band’s rhythmic approach has been compared to Cláudio Cavalcanti, a fantastic Brazilian actor mainly active between the ‘70s and ‘90s. Despite advanced research to establish a connection between this actor and our music, …

Mario C. Vaises (Svdestada – vocals)

SPB: The artwork for Candela is a very striking photo. What is the story behind this picture?

Vaises: For our first album we commissioned some images based on ideas we had in mind. At that time, the photographer established some parameters (female model, emotional intensity, recognizable color range...) that we have followed …

Mike (Slumberland Records)

SPB: What is your favorite movie/tv soundtrack/score?

Mike: I thought about it a bit but nothing really jumped out to me other than a few obvious choices, like The Man With The Golden Arm and Anatomy of A Murder. Both great!

After a re-watch a few nights ago, though, I’ll say…

Invasion …

Syrup Moose Records

Do you have a preferred color of vinyl pressing or, for that matter, cassettes?

We've only really done black vinyl so far, but I would love to do (and have some pre-orders up for) various colourful vinyl. I like to try and make everything we release as eye-catching as possible, while also remembering that I'm …

Matt Strickland (Sea Urchin – multi-instrumentalist)

SPB: Are you familiar with The Tick cartoon, because your cover art reminds me of Sewer Urchin? (Any related deeper thoughts…)

Oh, I am definitely familiar with The Tick, and I wholly believe that mid-‘90s children's programming molded the sense of humor which is present in a lot of Sea Urchin's …

Gwendolyn Giles (Vocals/Guitar - Dog Party), Lucy Giles (Vocals, Drums - Dog Party)

SPB: What inspired you to start a new record label in 2024?

Sneak Dog: When Dog Party finished recording our seventh record, we sat and really thought about different ways we could release it. We were leaning towards releasing it ourselves. We knew that our …

Stephen Hamm Theremin Man shows off his theremin magic.

Jeremiah Duncan (Small Steps – guitar/vocals)

SPB: How did Small Steps, the band, come to be?

Duncan: Small Steps started in late 2023 outside Lexington, Kentucky when me (Jeremiah) and Coty -- our drummer -- got together in a crammed office and started writing music. We had an idea of what style of band we were wanting to …

Jono Giralt (Stress Positions – drums)

SPB: Walk us through your drum kit and how you arrived at your sizes, etc.

Giralt: I play on a Tama Starrclassic. All Bubinga shells. 12”, 18”, and 24”. Charcoal grey, I guess? They look nice. I’ve been playing the Ludwig raw copper phonic snare. 6.5”x14”. Honestly the best snare I’ve ever …

Stepan (Selfist)

SPB: What do you think “hardcore” (as a scene) means in 2023, going into ’24?

Stepan: The beauty of hardcore, much like any other form of art, is that it means different things to different people. That being said, as a culture rooted in a DIY ethos, hardcore exists in localized pockets that create an interlocking …

Russell Harrison (Stress Positions)

SPB: What do you think of Record Store Day? 

Harrison: We are of two minds about Record Store Day. It's good because it drives business to independent record stores, but bad because it means the pressing plants are all clogged up with major labels doing reissues of stuff on vinyl for this day. It …

Ian (Skill Issue – guitar)

SPB: Skill Issue is based in 3 cities along I-95. How many combined total miles do band members have to drive, on average, for the band to practice or play a show?

Ian: tbh, skill issue is pretty much an anarchist art collective more than a traditional band. I tried to ditch cars …

Yanni Papadopoulos (Stinking Lizaveta-guitar)

SPB: What is the secret to a successful tour (whether that means financially or for your own well-being)?

Papadopoulos: The secret to a successful tour is to have a tour manager who is selfless, even tempered and sober. Tensions between band members can reach a breaking point when you're in a van with each …

Declan (Snakeland - guitar)

SPB: What was your favorite band in high school and how do they influence your songwriting/playing style today?

Declan: I'm not sure I could pick one band, but for me that era was bookended by Against Me! is Reinventing Axl Rose and Oh! Calcutta! by The Lawrence Arms. I don't think Snakeland sounds much …