Features / One Question Interviews

Tom Gibbs (The Bar Stool Preachers – guitar)

SPB: What kind of guitar do you use, and what do you specifically like about it?

Gibbs: I’ve got two axes in my touring arsenal. My favourite though has to be the “1962 Hagstrom KENT PB-24-G.” I love that its super lightweight and the tone really packs a punch. It …

James Woodard (The Grasshopper Lies Heavy – guitar)

SPB: I have two #1 guitars; one for stage; and one that stays home for recording and practice.

Woodward: My old #1 is my 1982 Gibson Les Paul Standard in a tobacco burst finish. It came into a guitar store I worked at about a decade ago and instantly knew …

Dennis Jagard (Ten Foot Pole-vocals/rhythm guitar/songwriter)

SPB: What was the most striking or memorable moment of your first practice when you reunited?

Jagard: It sounds silly, but my strongest memory is of us all pulling our cars up to the rehearsal area and seeing baby seats in nearly every car. We were no longer punk rock kids, we …

Tired of Everything

SPB: Who is your favorite 1970s artist? 

Will: Yes

Matt: The Cure

Dylan: The Doors

Eli: Motörhead

Eric Quach (Thisquietarmy)

SPB: In recording your new record, did any particular piece of gear (or combination) stand out for how it captured or delivered the final tone that you were seeking for the album?

Quach: Not anything in particular per se. Though to further elaborate that answer, here are some photos of our setup at Méduse Audio's …

Teddy Panopoulos

SPB: The new record is strictly analog. Can you walk us through the (main) gear that you used?

Adam (Tongue Party – bass)

SPB: What is your amp setup and how did you choose to pair that with your guitar?

Adam: So I used to use nothing but old Peavey bass heads but I kept frying them and blowing them the fuck up. I love that old Peavey gear though. That being said, the mix I’m …

Jon (The Path – vocals)

SPB: Who does the majority of the band’s driving while on tour? (Any related stories about why?) 

Jon: I do vocals in The Path and I do the vast majority of driving when we head out of Vermont.

When I first read the question it seemed like it would be difficult to …

Andy (Thou)

SPB: Was the mic’ing in the studio when you recorded Magus fairly straight forward, or were there some things you and the engineer did to find the right mics or experiment with sounds?

Andy: The mic’ing was more or less the same as most of our previous records, nothing too wild. The real “x” factor though, …

Germán Picazo (The Blackjaw)

SPB: Your record is called Burn The Artisan. What do you hold against them?

Picazo: We’ve nothing against the artisans, it’s just an irony figure of speech. We have been composing, practicing and then recording the album for about 3 years so it feels like we were cherishing, crafting and taking care of …

Tim Buchanan 

SPB: What do your parents think of your music?

Buchanan: My parents love what we do now. They’ve always been supportive, but I think the more abrasive music I helped make when I was younger was confusing to them, as it would’ve been for many I’m sure. Now that I make country music, or something …

Nate Cook (The Yawpers)

SPB: What’s the worst or harshest thing that’s happened to you in the middle of a tour? 

Cook: We were in Bern, Switzerland. I’d spent the last 6 months unable to move due to a collapsed disc in my neck. It had finally stopped crippling my movement about 2 weeks prior. We were playing …

Will Butler (Tired of Everything – vocals)

SPB: Tired Of Everything is your first time singing in a band. Between your first show and today, what have you done to shape how your voice sounds live? 

Butler: I would say, honestly, I still don't know what I'm doing as far as my voice as an instrument. My first …

Jim Blaha (The Blind Shake - guitar)

SPB: What type of guitar do you play with The Blind Shake and how did you pick that model? 

Blaha: For The Blind Shake I always was drawn towards the cheaper models like Univox, Tiesco and Danelectro (they were cheap when the band started at least). I never wanted the guitar …

Bobby Hussy (The Hussy, Fire Heads, Cave Curse)

SPB: Are you partial to a specific model of guitar? 

Bobby: I am partial to a few guitars depending on the project. In The Hussy I almost exclusively used offset Fender guitars like jaguars and jazzmasters, until rather recently when MPLS Guitars made me a custom guitar with a Fender …

Joshua Fleming (The Vandoliers)

SPB: How do you describe your sound to strangers? 

Fleming: It’s Texas Music.

Tierney Tough (The Pauses)

SPB: Where did you learn to drive? And what kind of car was it? 

Tough: My dad taught me how to drive in empty parking lots in some sort of dad-like truck, probably like everyone else's parents did with them. He also showed me how to drive and park with a trailer, which I …

The Cactus Blossoms

SPB: Who is your favorite currently active country musician?

Jack and Page: Willie Nelson

Fotis Tzanakis (The Contenders – guitar)

SPB: Can you walk us through your guitar gear?

Tzanakis: Here's a more detailed way of how I come to the sound for my guitar playing for Contenders: I play a Peerless solid body. I treat recordings and gigs quite differently when it comes to how my guitar will sound. 

Both …

Michael Bertoldini (The Secret)

SPB: The band didn’t see each other or communicate with each other for years prior to the new EP -- What brought you back together and how did you then move forward with creating new music?

Bertoldini: Our friends that run Venezia Hardcore Fest really pushed hard to have The Secret to reunite for …