Matt Scheuermann (Roses)
SPB: Coming into the Philadelphia music scene, what were your expectations (if any) and have those early expectations and perceptions changed over time?
Matt: Every time I'd visit Philly, I was always inspired. I'd always loved the people here and the music was just so great and diverse. So my expectations were somewhat based in factual experience.
I was excited to become entrenched in the music community. These past months have only further solidified my opinion of the city and people. So many great bands/artists. I'm getting a better grasp of the areas too: how there are different groups of friends/musicians in different neighborhoods of Philly. I feel pleasantly overwhelmed being here and I'm looking forward to meeting more people and experiencing more music and art.
I could name 6 million great bands from this city, but instead I'll end with a timeless quote from limp bizkit's driving force, Fred Durst: "I get silly when I play in Philly."
Dave (Reckless Records, Chicago-buyer)
SPB: How do you recommend people store their vinyl at home?
Dave: Vertically.
Jon (Chokecherry)
SPB: How do you feel about the hyphenated genre terms that tend to be applied to your band?
Jon: Genre descriptions are fine because people obviously want to know what a band sounds like before they commit time or money to it. But especially in punk, all the sub-genres and sub-scenes can get a little cliquey and silly. We've always tried to book lots of mixed bill shows -- a pop-punk band with some noisy acoustic metal -- to shake things up a bit. Those are the funnest shows anyway.
Curtis Meacham (Monkey-vocals)
SPB:What is something more people should know about the San Jose scene?
Curtis: San Jose is a pretty cool place. Its 45 minutes south of San Francisco and gets some of the biggest shows on off-nights because it's close enough to the City to catch major acts coming through.
San Jose and its surrounding South Bay cities (Campbell, Los Gatos, Mountain View, Palo Alto) have been a hotspot for up and coming music, for years. People may say that the Silicon Valley has no music scene, but it still kicks out major acts every now and then...like: The Grateful Dead, Skankin’ Pickle, Smashmouth, Nikki Sixx, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Mike Patton, Xiu Xiu, Third Eye Blind, and No Use for a Name.
As a suburban sprawl of nearly a million residents (998,537), San Jose could certainly use more nightlife, but the crowds of kids still rock out at the local teen centers, bowling alleys and sometimes...nightclubs. Then, after the shows, they flutter like moths to the one late night glowing oasis that doesn't care who you are and what you've been doing...The Taco Bravo!
So, come to San Jose and catch a Monkey show if you want to see a good time in the Southbay! Afterwards, we'll get tacos. M'kay?
