Features / One Question Interviews

Sam Siegler (World Be Free)

SPB: What strikes you as the biggest change in recording an album between now and your first few recordings?

Siegler: The first time I ever went into a studio to record drums was at Don Fury’s studio on Spring St. in NYC, I was 14 years old. It was for Youth of Today, …

Chicco (LATTE+)

SPB: If you could put together a four or five-piece "all star group" of players from classic punk bands, who would be in it? 

Chicco: Well, it's easy for me:

Ramones first line-up it's the greatest all-star punk rock band ever!

Justin Smith (Ghostlimb)

SPB: It seems people are often surprised when they hear of musicians holding higher degrees. Why do you think that is? 

Smith: I think the common view of music and “art” culture is that it is a crew of degenerates or hippies. I would argue that at the crux of these initially DIY scenes …

Eric (Wall of Youth Records)

SPB: If you could universally fix one recurring issue in venues across the world, what would you fix?

Eric: If I had my way, which never seems to happen, I would make the floors of all venues sloped slightly down toward the stage. I'm a pretty tall person so I always feel like …

France Camp

SPB: Who is the most overrated musician/band of all time?

FC: Answer:

Charles "the man" Manson. Not a big fan of his music, really dug his side project lol

I'm giving you two.

2nd answer: Our answer would have to be Devin Gregory and the Fire Department.

There’s a band that took …

Rob Fales (Southpaw Records)

SPB: Have you ever rejected album art from a band or artist? What goes into that process/decision?

Fales: Yes, we've rejected album art from bands. It's not something we do too often, only two that I can recall. There was a Sandwitches record we removed a penis from (for obvious reasons). Then there was …

Russell Edling (Cherry)

SPB: What was your first show?

Edling: It was July 1999, I was 11. The show was an all-day thing called "Suckfest," run by a local guy in Barnesville, PA.

Pretty much every band within 30 miles came and played. I was blown away, I saw this band called Nine Lives from NY that …

Fluffy (Ejector Seats-bass/vocals)

SPB: What was your first tape/record/or cd that you ever bought?

Fluffy: That's actually a really tough question...I grew up with an older sister, so I was subjected to her & her pot smoking hippie friends playing a shitload of classic rock: Bad Company, Queen, Deep Purple etc, etc...it was cool...

I liked everything, …

Brain Vacation

SPB: Ecstasy, meth, or ludes? 

BV: We don't do drugs all that often, but our singer has seen Phish play a few times so there's definitely something going on there. We never really expected to release that information into the world, but there it is. Please go do lots of meth and listen to our new …

Shirlette Ammons

SPB: What is the strangest trend you see in music (or in the industry vs the art)?

Ammons: Strangest trend to me is how much people are relying on pop culture, particularly pop songs, for their politicization. I do celebrate and embrace the affirmation, momentum, and empowerment provided by songs that speak to people's struggle, but …

Benjamin Finger

SPB: Do you have a somewhat clearcut idea of what you want to do when composing and/or producing your music, or are you more inclined to just "let things flow" and be more improvisational?

Finger: First of all, the answer is a multi-sided one. When it comes to composing and producing music (in my case) it …

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. …

Jim “Reverend” Heath (Rev. Horton Heat)

SPB: You've played a lot of "out-of-the-way" cities over the years. What inspires you to set up a tour hitting some these oft-skipped over places? Is there a different feel when you play a city or venue that doesn't see as many national acts?

Heath: We don't take many days off when …

Dave Bowden (Warm Needles – bass)

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

Bowden: My favorite band logo of all time has got to be Propagandhi from the How to Clean Everything album. In high school I'd try to draw other bands names on my books using the same cool lettering and it never came …

Ben (Nai Harvest)

SPB: Who is the loudest band you’ve seen live?

Ben: It’s a pretty relative to venue size question but probably FUZZ. We played with them at Gorilla in Manchester and my ears were buzzing for days after

Mike Moynihan (Hollow Earth)

SPB: What is the best “song about a girl” ever written?

Moynihan: Led Zeppelin – “Whole Lotta Love.”

This song makes me feel like Robert Plant is going to fuck me so good, but then hold me afterwards and tell me how much he loves and cares about me. At the end all …

Gareth Dickson (solo, Vashti Bunyan)

SPB: Is it unusual to be considered a "cult" artist or almost semi-legendary while still recording music? What kind of pressures does that produce?

Dickson: Ha, nice question, I had to check that it was actually intended for me. I never think of myself in that way, I always feel like I'm still struggling …

Jason Schmidt (Graf Orlock)

SPB: Rank these listening formats: cd, vinyl, cassette, digital, (other?)

Schmidt: I would rank these in the degree to which they are both visually and aurally pleasing. I would say vinyl would be top in that it has an expandable format and has a lot of low end that an MP3 would lack, squeezing …

Matthew S Williams (Hell)

SPB: Are more touring bands being robbed these days or is it just better publicized? Do you do anything special to try and prevent it from happening to you?

Williams: There may just be more opportunity for the thieves to take. There are a lot more touring bands on the road than there used …

Ali Muhareb

SPB: It seems like there's been renewed interest in psychedelic music in recent years. Have you noticed any differences between the psychedelic scene in the United States and that which you've encountered while touring overseas? 

Muhareb: I find the question you asked me very interesting! It's got me thinkin' all sorts of thoughts. Nostalgic memories of …