Features / One Question Interviews

Jon McKiel

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

McKiel: Yes, but it really depends on whether I've played the room before, how much practice the band has had leading up, whether or not the sound check was ok, or the PA even exists! Sometimes we sing through our amps and improvise a whole lot, …

Mikey Erg

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

Erg: For the most part I'm usually more excited than nervous. Sometimes I can get a little nervous if it's a big crowd or if it's a band that hasn't gotten to rehearse all that much, but that usually goes away after the first song. 

Jamie (Audio Antihero)

SPB: What is the best pop song of the last 10 years?

Jamie: I'm not deliberately rockist (I swear!) - but since “teen” started appearing in my ages, I've never really liked radio/Top 40 music all that much, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. Firstly I was going to say "Crazy" by …

Jon Balun (The Brokedowns)

SPB: You scream a lot. Has that gotten easier or harder on your voice as you're no longer in your 20s?

Balun: I have talked to my personal physician. He strongly agrees with my strict regimen of cigarette smoking and whiskey shots to warm up the ol' vocal cords. He also recommends that Kris, …

Andrew (Caffiends)

SPB: How old were you when you first learned a musical instrument?

Andrew: Here at Caffiends we take every interview as a huge honor and we are hoping to one day be able to answer this question. However, no one in Caffiends actually knows how to play their instruments, we are just really good at faking …

Ty Vaughn (Broadway Calls)

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

Vaughn: The Ramones. I'm biased for two reasons. 1) I love this band and always will. 2) I met and hung out with Arturo Vega for the summer of 2008 while we were on Warped Tour together. He was a fascinating guy with amazing …

Matt Sweeting (Asshole Parade, No Idea Records)

SPB: What’s the last record you didn’t care for on first listen but has since grown on you?

Sweeting: Here's two answers (and this happens to me constantly by the way falling in and out of love with records).

Veronica Falls - s/t LP (Slumberland)

So first off, I …

Jensen (Iron Lung)

SPB: What is the strangest interaction you’ve had with a (super) fan?

Jensen: The first time he showed up was only mildly weird. Kind of cool, actually.

He flew all the way to San Francisco from Florida for one show, rolled into the club with a giant backpack on straight from the airport. He …

Rachel (Lipstick Homicide – bass/vocals)

SPB: Was the acoustic set a Fest 13 a one-time thing or do you sometimes perform acoustic around Iowa?

Rachel: We have done acoustic sets before and Kate plays solo acoustic shows all the time, but that was the first time we've performed acoustically together for several years and most of the songs …

Jeremy (Girl Scout)

SPB: What varieties of Girl Scout (the band) cookies would there be? 

Jeremy: We always talked about making weed versions of Girl Scout cookies and selling them as merch because there is nothing more Girl Scout than getting high, turning up the fuzz and having some fun. We just wanna put the "tree" in trefoils, …

Ruben (30,000 Monkies – vocals/guitar)

SPB: What is the worst reunion concert you ever saw? 

Ruben: I've never really seen a bad reunion concert actually, but there is one that I attended that had some shitty consequences for us. In 2009, at Pukkelpop festival, My Bloody Valentine played their first concert in Belgium since their reunion. All in …

Zock (Astpai – vocals)

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

Astpai: In May 1999, I woke up on what I thought was gonna be yet another lousy school day (I was 12 years old at the time), preparing myself for eight hours full of incompetent teaching …

Universe217

SPB: As far as I know you record your music at your own studio. Do you think that that allows you to be more creative? Having more time to try out different things?

Universe217: We have our own studio, yes. We actually never produced a record other way, so I can’t really compare it with not doing it …

Paul Rivera (La Armada – guitar)

SPB: What is the secret to a successful tour?

This question is more complex than it seems. I think the answer varies a lot depending on so many factors like what size of band is touring, what’s the main goal of the tour, and other logistical issues. At the root of it, …

Mike Blaha (The Blind Shake)

SPB: You have now released records on a lot of labels. What do you enjoy about changing affiliation with each release?

Blaha: I think the best part about label Mormonism is discovering the newer or lesser publicized bands on a label. For example, Thee Oh Sees are one of the best bands on …

Thou

SPB: What is your favorite part about the recording process? 

Andy: Overdubs, without a doubt. James Whitten, our recording guy/sound guru, is really good at helping us create outlandish sounds that end up sitting way back in the mix. I sometimes wonder if people listening to our records even notice them. Sometimes it's just banging on a …

Marc Euvrie (The Eye of Time)

SPB: In your self-titled album, you had a more aggressive outlook and quite a different instrumentation for your music. What signaled the change from that to the more peaceful aura of Acoustic? And what does that change signify for you? 

Euvrie: It is not a change movement, it's just an experimentation. …

Scott Wilkinson (Scene Point Blank)

SPB: What album changed or had the biggest impact on your life?

WIlkinson: I would have to say Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. The record came out when I was 12 and dominated my record player (yeah I'm that old). The Eastern influence was there in “Within You Without …

Aaron H (Scene Point Blank)

SPB: What's a band totally outside of your typical stylistic preferences that's you're an avid fan of?

Aaron: I'd say there are two answers I could give for this. I grew up with a mom obsessed with ‘90s pop/alt-country so a lot of that was playing in the house while I was growing …

Spyros Stasis (Scene Point Blank)

SPB: What was the best show you have seen this past year? 

Stasis: It has to be the gig Neurosis did in Athens back in July (2014). I had seen them twice in the UK, but that last time in Athens really stood out for me. I mean, when you see them at …