Evan (Vacation)
SPB: What is your primary tour food?
Evan: Our primary tour food is PIZZA. Like as much as your town has to offer, and if you know where we can get a New Jersey-style slice let us know! Been achin' to try some. Also see this:
...except no riboflavin for us.
John Hoffman (Vacation, The Mimes) SPB: From when you were starting out to now, what parts of your setup in studio have help to voice your sound as it stands today? Hoffman: I'd have to say it's my Tascam 122 cassette deck. It's a two-track cassette desk that can monitor … Read more
I went out on tour with my buds in Norcos y Horchata as their bass player a few weeks back. I haven't been on an actual tour since before the pandemic, so this was going to be an adventure. The routing brought us from Michigan to New Jersey and back. … Read more
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 … Read more
The Cincinnati, Ohio three-piece Vacation are some active musicians. The band was formed to give them a local outlet, as other projects featured out-of-town members, and has quickly grown. They band just released two new 7”s and a tape, and are working on a follow-up to 2011’s self-titled release on … Read more
As a generalization I’d call vacation garage-punk, but the band has just as much grunge to their sound as those other styles -- and a whole lot more too. It’s raw ‘n’ straight-forward rock ‘n’ roll in a balance that pulls from the classic structures, balancing emotion and fuzz within melodic and building structures that ebb and flow for powerful … Read more
I’ve been fighting the urge to just quote John Hoffman from when I interviewed another one of his bands, The Mimes, earlier this year, because I think he described his songwriting style really well in it. Instead, you get a vague, shameless plug, though I’ll circle back after more explanation. On their latest offering, Vacation hasn’t wildly changed. Existential Risks … Read more
For running with the DIY punk scene, Vacation are surprisingly diverse (not to mention prolific). The band’s latest is the 12-song Mouth Sounds #2699 and its 26-minute span delivers the band’s general sound of fuzzed out garage-punk bangers, but within that general sound they deliver crunchy grunge riffs, pop melodies, and flat out noisy bursts, all within a short-song framework … Read more
Christine Atturio (Little Low) SPB: What is your favorite Disney soundtrack? Atturio: Aladdin, hands down. Robin Williams singing "Friend Like Me" is fire! The soundtrack as a whole goes from hopeful to scary to funny and back again, sometimes even sounding like the music from Indiana Jones when he's exploring … Read more
McKinnon (Normal Park) SPB: Your bio references math rock, [my opinion] one of the sillier genre names. Is there a music term you hear often that seems like it could have been phrased better? Tyler: I don’t mind math rock as a genre term because it’s simple and descriptive, plus … Read more
Alex Gilliam (Foolsmate) SPB: What does the term “Midwest emo” mean to you? Gilliam: After getting this question, I immediately asked the other guys in Foolsmate for their input. Though their answers varied drastically, they all touched upon inclusion. Midwest emo has always been about being vulnerable about yourself and … Read more
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