Damaged City Fest (April 7-10)
SPB:Festivals are a continually popular concept, though varying in formulas. What do you think is best about a festival versus a “regular” line-up of 3-5 bands?
Nick and Chris: We don't see festivals as an "alternative" to normal shows and prefer to view the two types of events as separate entities. I think if every single show was a festival, people would get pretty burned out. Both of us (Chris and Nick) have always set up normal shows and we'll always continue.
I think the advantage to festivals are primarily their scale. The larger turnout of people can help finance bigger headliners and help pay for international bands that probably couldn't afford to come otherwise. Festivals also act as a meeting point for punks to congregate from all over the world. Fests also make it easier for DIY bands to plan tours and help gain some security about traveling in from long distances.
Again, it has never been our intention to "replace" the traditional 4 band show with a fest. I think, if anything, there are many many many more "normal shows" as a direct result of the fest.
Brian Cullman
SPB: After working in film, journalism, and other aspects of the industry, what called you back to performing and recording original music?
Brian: I love working in movies, but there’s a part of the process that is just soul-destroying. On most movies, even low budget ones, there’s so much money involved, and so many people who need to be pleased, that you spend more time and energy trying not to get things wrong than in making something that’s really right and that shines with its own light. I finally got fed up with being a musical waitress -- “More drama, Mr DeMille? More comedy?” -- and went back to making my own decisions, making recordings that I myself wanted to hear. And it’s been a pleasure.
Though in fairness, every once in a while I had the chance to work with a director who didn’t need a committee and who trusted their own judgment, and that was a gas. Working with Stanley Tucci was so much fun and so uplifting. He loves music, he knows where music comes from, and at various times I had to physically hold him back and keep him from running into the studio and hugging the musicians while we were recording.
Mocaine (Nomads)
SPB: What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Mocaine: When I was 19 years old I got laid off from my record store job and had to scramble to find work. I got a job at a sex shop attached to a strip club in downtown Seattle. Thought I was gonna be doing retail. Ends up I was hired as the "Skeet Sweeper." Job requirements: hose homeless people’s shit out of the alley in the morning and once an hour hit the jerk booths with a mop. Lasted three weeks there. I quit the day someone took a shit in one of the jerk booths. Cum sucks.
DSGNS
SPB: What’s the smallest crowd you’ve ever played to? Is it hard when such a thing happens and how do you adjust?
DSGNS: The smallest crowd we’ve ever played for was about 5 maybe 8, can’t be too sure. It can sometimes be a bit of a hit to your ego, and the band morale may wane a bit. For us once the music starts it doesn’t really matter if we have a crowd of 5 or 5,000 watching us, the same amount of heart and aggression will be on display.
