Features / One Question Interviews

Mustafa Daka (The Brokedowns)

SPB:Are there any Albanian bands you’d recommend?

Daka: Unfortunately, Albania hasn't produced much in the way of rock, metal or thrash bands. There are a few that I'm like, "Yeah, these guys aren't so bad..." but that's kinda like when you go to Big Lots and you buy a turntable/cassette player in a box that looks …

David Bailey (CAGES/Gas Chamber) 

SPB: Who is your favorite band or artist from the 1980s?

Bailey: G.I.S.M. from Japan. They released two furious documents in the eighties, Detestation and Military Affairs Neurotic, both of which are heaving with violence. As a teenager I had picked up a bootleg cd of them based on the terrifying cover artwork, and after hearing …

Alan Licht (Solo, Run On, The Pacific Ocean, more)

SPB: What is your least favorite genre of music? Is there an artist who is an exception to that rule?

Licht: Opera is my least favorite genre of music (meaning traditional western classical opera, not including Peking Opera, or certain avant garde operas like Einstein on the Beach or some of …

Var (No Idea Records)

SPB: As No Idea has become an established DIY label, what is the more tiresome stereotype you’ve encountered as a result of that success?

Var: The short answer would be that "all the bands sound like Hot Water Music." *

The long answer is that "success" is a tricky word. Our daily lives and work on …

Oren Ambarchi

SPB: What is the most thankless job in the music industry?

Ambarchi: One of the many thankless jobs would be working as the house sound engineer in a club. You'd be exposed to plenty of shitty music played by obnoxious assholes at a loud volume on a regular basis. Even if you somehow enhanced the sound of the …

Douglas McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback, Eleventh Dream Day)

SPB: What, for you, defines a successful tour?

McCombs: A successful tour for me means that there is good playing being played and everyone is enjoying being on the tour. It sucks touring with a sourpuss who doesn't want to be there.

I play in a few different bands, some of which make …

Andrew Burnes (San Agustin, Haunted House, SATMC)

SPB: What is your all-time favorite record (and why)?

Burnes: I'd like to think that my tastes are broad and deep, but the one record that immediately comes to mind upon reading that question is probably not an unusual answer: the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Are You Experienced. The first music that really …

Adam (Say-10 Records)

SPB: What is your go-to karaoke song?

Adam: Let's set the stage... I am the worst karaoke performer of all time and I only participate when I am surrounded by people that treat it as if they are at an american idol try out.

I always grab the mic, wrap the chord around my wrist, and then …

Mike Apocalypse (Gehenna)

SPB: What is your most common tour food?

Mike: I'm not sure, but I think it's a close tie between marijuana edibles and fresh vegetables. We like to stay high and we also like to get our health on.

Asgeir Aarøen (Aesgir & Mo)

SPB: What got you interested in the flamenco guitar?

Aarøen: I first saw flamenco guitar live at the age of 26, back in 1998 I think, when I lived in Oslo, the capitol of Norway. At this time I played mostly classical guitar and had a past as a rock/metal guitarist for many years. I …

Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers, solo)

SPB: In one of your columns you wrote for us, you talked of being a disco DJ at house parties. What’s the best disco song out there?

Spaghetti: Hmm. Tough question for sure. So many good ones. But if pressed to pick the ONE, genre defining moment of Disco, I'm gonna have to go with “Disco …

Anthony Fusco (Divider)

SPB: How has the increasing digitalization of the music industry changed how you listen to music?

Fusco: For me, it's one or the other. If I am doing something that requires some kind of audible stimulus in the background, it is almost always Spotify or Pandora. The continuous flow of digital music is awesome when you are …

Greg Attonito (Bouncing Souls)

SPB: What makes a good roadie? Have you ever done it?

Attonito: A good roadie cares about the band and making the show go as smoothly as possible. It’s always best when the roadies and band guys enjoying hanging out because 90% of the time you spend on tour is together. If we are all creating …

Nick Harris (Luther)

SPB: What was the first concert you attended?

Luther: The first "concert" I ever attended was The Offspring when I was 12 years-old. The first show I ever went was in the basement of McCorristin High School in Trenton, NJ in 2000. None of the bands that played are still bands, but it was awesome: my mom …

Chris (Profound Lore Records)

SPB: Do you run your own website, facebook, etc? Do you enjoy that aspect of being a label?

Chris: With the exception of a new webmaster that takes care of the technical aspects of my website, I do run my website, facebook, twitter, and all accounts related to social media. I do quite enjoy it actually …

Adam (Gilead Media)

SPB: Is there a record you passed on releasing that, in retrospect, you really wish you could have worked on?

Adam: There is always one album I totally regret not being able to release. When Ludicra released The Tenant I had the opportunity to potentially release the album on vinyl and, sadly, wasn't able to take on …

Alex (Lemuria)

SPB: What do you think when fans run onstage and sing into the mic while you’re on stage?

Alex: I think it's fun when people jump up on stage and sing along. It brings a great energy to the set for us. But with anybody who does this, they must know when enough is enough. There is a …

Grant Purdum (Tiny Mix Tapes, Gumshoe Grove, Signal to Noise, Onion AV Club)

SPB: What kinds of topics or tone do you like to see when you read an interview with a band?

Purdum: Good question. I was just thinking about this the other day while killing ants in my bathroom actually (Texas + summer = ant party). What I …

Mike Wiebe (Riverboat Gamblers, High Tension Wires)

SPB: In addition to your multiple bands, you've taken to stand-up comedy recently too. What drew you to the medium, and what has struck you the most about it?

Wiebe: I was drawn to it initially just from being such a huge fan of good stand-up since I was a little kid. The …

Way to End

SPB: Who is the first musician whose technique or technicality really stood out to you?

Way to End: Cziffra and, as a consequence, Liszt. When I was very young, my father bought a cd of Liszt played by Cziffra. It was the Hungarian Rhapsodies. I was so struck by the way piano was played, there was something …