Continuing the Up Up Down Down theme of SAL lately, here is an interview I recently did with Steve Poponi, mastermind of the band. Thanks to Steve for being so generous and not getting too annoyed at having to exchange so many emails with me over the last few weeks. You can check out my review of the band’s latest album, Worst Band Name Ever here or check out the sweet contest we’re running for lots of free Up Up Down Down stuff here. And you can even check out some of the band’s tunes and lack of tour dates at their myspace page here.

There has been one constant in UUDD and that is yourself. What does the project mean to you?

Over the last 2 years the band has kinda become what I always wished it was….because there is no touring to limit who can be in the band I was able to get my “dream team” of players. Before when we were touring alot we weren’t as concerned about people’s writing styles and general musical vibe, we just needed to have someone play guitar or whatever for the tours. Once we decided that touring was a lost cause for us I was able to get all the guys that I had worked with in the past to become full time guys with the band and start writing songs where everyone is on the same page and there are virtually no conflicts within all of our styles, I guess thats how some bands start out but that’s how we ended up. So this band to me is a perfect fit, it started out as something completely different and has finally settled into something that comes very easily and has very little ego involved except mine.

It seems that your songs seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Worst Band Name Ever is 10 songs in 21 minutes. Has that been a conscious decision or one that has just evolved naturally?

When I was younger and in bands I remember playing shows and songs that were not great and I can clearly remember playing and in the middle of a song feeling like I was bored of what I was playing so I can only imagine what people were thinking when they watched us. To me, there is a standard of song length that the world likes and I don’t really worry about it. If it’s good who cares right? There is a repeat button on your cd player for a reason.

Your lyrical style seems very conversational…be it serious, humorous or self-deprecating. Where does that come from?

I have no idea, I have struggled with lyrics for my entire songwriting life and I think I just kind of gave up on trying to be artistic with them and just started writting about stuff. The song “Dear Erica” kinda made me think about the little stories that I had and how I could use them in songs. I have had so much wierd stuff happen to me with friends and relationships that was totally untapped because I didn’t know how to write lyrics that were personal to me but still listenable to others. I think over the course of Girls Names and this new CD I have really figured out what I like about writing lyrics and have found a way to not dread it like I used to.

You have your own studio and produce bands. How has that influenced Up Up Down Down’s songwriting and style?

Man…….I don’t know if I could answer that……I have always had a studio and always used it to write so I really don’t know where I would be without knowing how to record. For me, songwriting happens in the studio, I have not sat down with my guitar and tried to write a song in probably like 7 years. I generally noodle around on my guitar and record it and then start layering it with other noodle stuff until I get something and then I do the same with the vocals….I just kinda brainstorm for a bit and then start singing. Who knows what we would sound like if I didn’t have a studio, we would probably be way better.

Your last few releases before Worst Band Name Ever have been offered for free on the band’s website. Talk about that decision and why it was made.

The indie rock record label rat race seemed kinda silly for 5 older dudes. If a label had not picked us up yet it wasn’t gonna happen, so we decided that we would take our music and defy all that the music industry (indie and major) told bands they were supposed to do. The thing that is unique about the 2 EPs being free is not just that they are free but that we wrote and recorded them both with the sole intention of making them free. It wasn’t to sell older records or promote a new record, it was to give people music for free. It’s the thought that counts right?

I remember having a conversation with you back at Macrock a few years ago about not touring anymore. That’s why the song “Boise” cracks me up so much. Talk about the decision to not tour and that song as well.

When Up Up first started playing there were 2 types of indie bands (in my mind), there were the touring bands and the local bands…..lots of local bands were trying to act like the touring bands but in reality they played 6 times a month in their hometown and most of those bands were just taking shows that fell into their lap. To be a touring band back then (1998) you had to be really motivated, there were about one tenth the amount of promoters in the states and you still had to do most of your shows at bars or VFW type places, no booking agents for smaller bands and no myspace, oh and for the most part, no email.. As the internet got bigger and playing in a band became more of a hobby for people (hobby meaning that you chose being in a band over playing soccer in highschool) the market started to get flooded with “indie” bands and DIY promoters and the line between touring band and local band got real blurry. We were watching the whole indie scene explode and we were getting swallowed up in it. At that point in our career we were (and are) still virtually unknown so for people that were just getting introduced to our music we were just considered part of the new flood of bands and that sorta freaked me out since I knew how hard we had worked to get even the small amount of popularity that we had and this wave of shit was about to take that away. I think identity is ultimately the cause of our reluctance to tour. We want an identity and to some people that means getting out there and showing your face and playing shows and being part of a community of people who are doing the same thing. To me that used to be true but now every goddamned band has the same press photo and tour itinerary, I don’t want my band to be part of that. It’s boring and I am bored of it…haha. We are not like those other bands. Of course we are exactly like them but it feels good to say we are not and try to rebel.

Anyway….. We wanted to make sure that we were in control of how people viewed us and decide that laying low and letting the whole scene-a-rama thing die off would be better for us since we were already a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people (with a name like ours) and a glossy pic of us under a bridge wasn’t gonna help.

What do you see for Up Up Down Down in the future?

Right now we have no plans of any kind, some shows this summer to let people hear the new CD played live and that’s about it. Nothing past August. I know you mean “what do I see in the more distant future?” but I got nothing, no plans.

Any last words?

Nah, I need some lunch.

The Ackleys are a great pop/punk band from Birmingham, Alabama. I have gushed over the band on SAL for the last six months. Vocalist/guitarist Katie Crutchfield was kind enough to answer some of my questions. You can check out my review of the band’s last release, the Forget Forget Derive Derive EP here. Check out the band’s myspace page for songs and tour dates.

I know you have mentioned Guided By Voices in the past but what are some of the band’s other influences? And how would you describe your sound?

The Muffs, Descendents, X, The Smiths/Morrissey, The Weakerthans, X Ray Spex, Tiger Trap, The Slits, Jawbreaker, Jawbreaker, The Smiths, and Jawbreaker

I would describe our sound as…indie-punk? Maybe? Really poppy songs with simple structures and lots of energy.

The Birmingham music scene seems to be really cool and tight knit? What distinguishes it from other scenes? Any up and coming bands to watch out for?

Birmingham does have a really tight scene. Central Alabama is one of the friendliest places on earth so that definitely comes across in our hospitality towards touring bands…which can be pretty surprising. I guess most importantly, we want people to be comfortable and we want to make friends and we want everyone to have a positive experience. Locally, it’s kind of like a small town…everyone knows everyone no matter what genre. Hardcore kids come to some indie rock shows and indie rock kids come to punk shows and punk kids come to art shows we have and so on.

Awesome Birmingham/Alabama bands are The Judy Garland Death Squad, Teen Getaway, Danger!, Baak Gwai, Tyrants, Ex Members of The Holy Trinity, Brothers and Sisters, Poser Parade, Unwed Teenage Mothers.

Most have myspaces so check them out!

Has living in the South influenced your songwriting at all? What other factors influence the band’s songwriting?

I think living in the South kind of affects almost every aspect of my life so I’m sure in some way it influences my songwriting. Being in the South gives you an interesting perspective. In a lot of cases people come here or listen to your band with this premeditated opinion of what you’re like or what you think..its a strange thing.

As for other influences, lyrically everything I write about is pretty typical: boys, friendships, the scene, dumb girls, really dumb boys, books i read, etc.

Upon my first listen I was stunned at how young the band was. Do you see the youth of the band as more of a positive or negative?

I guess its a positive right now. When we started my sister and I were 15 and couldn’t drive and I guess that was kind of a negative because we weren’t old enough to go to a lot of shows or do a lot of things but now I think its a positive. We’re still young enough for people to find it somewhat enticing but we’re old enough to make good decisions and stuff like that.

Being that everybody is still in school (be it high school or college), what kind of priority is the band in everybody’s life right now? Is there any thought to making The Ackleys a full-time gig?

I guess making it a full-time gig is the ultimate goal, and I’m sure eventually that will become the main priority. As of right now, we have a lot of time and we’re not in a huge rush. It’s a big priority in all our lives but its not the only priority, I guess is what I’m trying to say.

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

For it. Anyone who wants our music can have it.

Do you think it necessary for a band to be “signed” to be successful?

Definitely not. I’ve seen plenty of bands put out their own music and be successful. Labels are there to help you, not do everything for you in my opinion. I think its probably really helpful but not a necessity.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

Well, we all listen to really different music…but for me:

The Unlovables – Heartsickle
Descendents – Everything Sucks
Fucked Up – Hidden World
Municipal Waste – Art Of Partying
Pink Razors – Scene Suicide EP
Lemuria – Kind Of Like Spitting Split
Fake Problems – How Far Our Bodies Go
Marked Men – Fix My Brain
Hop Along, Queen Ansleis – Freshman Year
The Ergs! – Jersey’s Best Prancers

What’s on the horizon (releases, touring) for the band in the near future?

Eastern US tour this summer, a lot of which will be done with our good friends, O Pioneers!!! and hopefully recording a new full-length in early fall!

Any last words?

I don’t think so! Thanks Will!

Street Smart Cyclist are an incredible new band that I had the pleasure of discovering earlier this year with their demo seven inch record. I am not sure I have ever been so impressed by a band’s first songs. However, SSC’s material simply jumps out at you. You can read my review here. Go visit the band’s myspace page here to check out the songs. I caught up with John and Jon from SSC a few weeks ago. Thanks to both for pulling off a little interview magic for me.

How would you describe Street Smart Cyclist’s sound and what are some of the band’s main influences?

John: It’s pretty obvious that the band is primarily influenced by the entire mid-western emo sound, but we’re all into a lot of stuff other than that. Nate loves the Replacements. Ross loves the Beatles. I love the Smiths. We all love so much music, the idea was to just come together completely respecting each other as both musicians and people and just make a band. It worked out pretty neatly.

Jon: I always tell different people different things. If I feel like someone will know what I mean, I usually just say we’re emo, but if I have to tell people at work what our band sounds like, I usually say mathy indie rock. Its so embarassing to tell people who aren’t into punk that you play emo, because they’ll think you love Dashboard or Simple Plan. We do love Dashboard, but not Simple Plan. We definitely set out to write upbeat emo and pop-punk laced with some more angular flavor thrown in, in the vein of Braid, Promise Ring, American Football and all that 90’s stuff. We also bite Rage Against the Machine a lot.

How is the Bethlehem, PA music scene? Any up and coming bands to watch out for?

John: Bethlehem is really just part of the greater Lehigh Valley area, and there is always something going around here. I’m not sure what is right now, but something is definitely going on. Dave’s in another band called Storm the Bastille that went from being really bad to really good in a matter of days or something. They’re doing really awesome stuff.

Jon: The Lehigh Valley music scene is amazing. Its not a very well-known area in general, but Bethlehem, Allentown and to a lesser extent, Easton are definitely on the punk rock tour map, thanks to a lot of really great hard-working people who are not us. Definitely agree with John, Storm the Bastille got all epic and famous all of a sudden. Yo Man Go is also excellent. Jon, their one guitarist, always writes my favorite shit, and 2/3 of Off Minor recently joined their band, so they ballin. They’re touring this summer with Bridge and Tunnel, from Long Island. There’s a lot of other stuff going on depending on what you’re into. Lots of hardcore and crusty stuff, for the most part. It seemed like there wasn’t much of an emo presence for a while, or maybe that people weren’t as into that style as much as other stuff, but now it seems like there’s more of it going around. Other awesome bands that came out of the Valley include, and are definitely not limited to Weston, Digger, Pearls and Brass, Gatecrashers, Pissed Jeans, Ultimate Warriors, and Carpenter Ant, among others.

With a healthy six-member lineup is the song writing process for the band chaotic at all? What factors have influenced the band’s songwriting the most?

John: The songwriting process is awkward. Things basically either click right away and you come away with something you’re really proud of, or you just have a cluster-fuck of parts flying around each other and nothing is working out. Being the singer, I try to get everyone on the same page as each other. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Jon: I definitely agree with John. Constantly hit or miss. Sometimes everyone wants to be the guitar superhero and write some noodly part and it just sounds like diarrhea. That always happens when we try to practice without John. John is like the architect. John is just endowed with that pop know-how, always bringing structure to everything. Or sometimes just two of us will write songs and then everyone writes their own layer. Thats the main thing: nobody writes all the parts even if we’re working on one person’s idea. You might bring some riff to practice thinking its going to sound one way, and then everybody lays down their parts and you have something wildly different than you started with. But that’s the fun of it.

How important is the DIY/punk community and spirit to Street Smart Cyclist?

John: Growing up in the Lehigh Valley punk scene, you basically become immersed in DIY ethics and ideas. There have always been house shows and people putting out their own records and booking their own tours and all that. Seeing others around you doing that kind of stuff makes you psyched to get out and do it yourself (no pun intended). The DIY and punk communities play a big part in what the Cyclist is.

Jon: Punk is of utmost importance to Street Smart Cyclist! When we started this band we would always joke that we were going to get all these myspace messages and show requests from shitty radio emo bands who don’t get what we’re trying to do, what we’re affiliated with, etc. but it totally didn’t turn out that way! I mean, we definitely get mad props from poseurs and biters alike, but for the most part we seem to be that emo band that plays with DIY hardcore and screamo bands a lot, and we like that just fine. That was always Dave’s and my goal: to be the emo band revered by hardcore bands. Which brings me to my point: It’s all punk! We can play a show with any DIY band, and even if they’re super heavy and then we roll out with this twinkly bullshit, we can still be buds and appreciate each other’s bands because we’re in the same community of believers, united by our ethics, and similar clothing (hehe). In the LV, people start coming to local shows liking what they like, and after a few months, they end up liking all these styles they never thought they would. And that’s because its all in the presentation, in what kind of a person you are. Its as much about what your band does as how your band sounds. Unfortunately we seem to have developed a reputation for canceling shows, but that hasn’t happened in a few months. We were really disorganized for a while, and case in point, I think we were starting to get a bad rep. But book us! We won’t cancel ever again!

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

John: I really don’t care. A lot of kids hear about a lot of awesome bands they probably never would have otherwise through file-sharing. If anything, file-sharing helps young bands get their name out, and it keeps money from musicians that are already too wealthy to begin with. It’s a wonderful system.

Jon: Digital media is the great equalizer dude! The greatest democratizing force of our time, leveling the playing field for all bands. Well thats not quite accurate, because I think its more like not only has the playing field been leveled, but its tectonic plates have shifted as well, creating all these little playing fields. That is, its not like all bands are trying to get signed, and all reaching toward this be-all end-all goal of getting a major label record deal. I hate when I hear ignorant motherfuckers my own age talking about getting a record deal. What the fuck year is this, 1970? Do it yourself! In this age, you can order some inexpensive recording equipment, illegally download recording software, teach yourself how to use it, write some decent songs with your friends (virtually the only tough part left), and push them on the internet with a little bit of ingenuity. That’s basically all we did, and we have 1500 myspace friends, and our tour is almost booked. That’s not being arrogant, I’m just saying I’m so impressed that we’ve been able to get as far as we have without so many of the amenities enjoyed by major and even indie label artists. Shit is a straight up miracle! Ha, but our songs aren’t available for download right now because our 7″ just came out and we need to create some incentive for people to buy it. I’m sure they will be available again shortly.

Do you think it’s necessary for a band to be “signed” to be successful?

John: Due to the rise of the Internet, I don’t believe being signed is really necessary anymore. Sure, money is coming from your pocket initially, but with the Internet on your side, you can promote your band and get people excited about it without driving to their town and playing a shit bar for eight drunken people. Plus, the payback of releasing a record yourself is far greater than what it would be if you were signed, so all is well.

Jon: No. Again, the internet changes everything. A band like Metallica can’t just record one decent single and throw 10 other stinker tracks on an album and expect the whole thing to go platinum anymore. What’s gonna happen? Kids are just going to download the single. There’s this added incentive to write better material now, and all these propped up one hit wonders have to worry about producing actual content as opposed to just having the advertising muscle to get famous no matter what. So if you’re a band that writes good content, I think you definitely have a better chance of getting noticed. But then again, now the internet is so saturated with bands that it becomes difficult to stand out. It’s like this big stage that everybody gets to be on, no matter how terrible their band is–which is awesome, but its really easy to get fatigued having to constantly sort through crap. Also, you can’t just send friend requests to people on social networking sites, because they get so many requests from bands that they just don’t care anymore. So we don’t add anybody anymore, except for friends that know us, and other bands and labels we like. So what does modern success look like? For me, I think I’d just like to get to the point where I don’t have to pay for any band activities out of pocket anymore. Some combination of having labels pay for releases, and being able to make enough money playing shows that we have a large enough band fund to pay for merch and gas, and playing out is not always an expense. So really, just breaking even would be enough success for me. And you don’t have to be signed for that, just be smart with your money.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

John: I think everyone has been pretty into the new Battles record. In fact, I’m listening to it right now. It’s pretty fucking incredible. Also, everyone is really excited about the new Algernon Cadwallader stuff. That band and those dudes are amazing.

Jon: I know that all of us have recently been real into Battles, Colossal, new Das Oath, and the new Ghostface Killah. New Kidcrash is also awesome and we are stoked to be playing with them in North Carolina this summer.

What’s on the horizon (releases, touring) for the band in the near future?

John: We’re touring in July! Get us on Dudefest somehow!

Jon: We’re writing for a full length right now that’s going to get recorded sometime before the end of summer. We’re going on tour for a little over a week in July. Maybe buying a van? We’re probably just going to try to do a lot of weekend jaunts in the next year, as we’re all kind of busy with work and school.

Any last words?

John: I’m late for my creative writing class. Last week of classes! Fuck yeah!

Jon: Probably just going to up the punx.

The Brother Kite are an amazing pop/rock band from Providence, RI. Their 2006 release, Waiting For The Right Time (which I reviewed here), clocked in at #25 in my Best of 2006. Thanks to Patrick and Jon of The Brother Kite for taking the time out to answer some questions.

www.myspace.com/thebrotherkite

How would you describe The Brother Kite’s sound to someone yet to hear the band?

Jon: It’s difficult to describe music, isn’t it? We’re a loud, three guitar rock and roll band…and we do our best to create catchy pop music.

Obviously the band has been influenced by the shoegazing scene. But, I love the pop-factor on Waiting For The Time To Be Right. What are some of the band’s other influences that might not be so noticeable?

Patrick: In reference to the album, one thing that slips under the radar is the fact that a lot of songs are either borrowing from or blatantly ripping off The Who Sell Out. Some on purpose, some completely by accident. Another big influence was Danny Elfman’s score for the film Edward Scissorhands. I have been obsessed with it since I was ten years old, and there are common themes between our album and that film, so I wanted to incorporate that spooky boys choir stuff to try to give the same emotive quality to our music. But, generally speaking, everything is an influence to this band. And it isn’t specific to music, either. Movies, books, sounds in the street, anything at all can have some stock in whatever we do.

Jon: In addition to The Who, other 1960’s rock bands like The Zombies and The Beach Boys had a big influence on WFTTTBR. Strangely, I’ve never heard most of the bands people assume influence us (Ride, Slowdive, etc.).

Providence, RI is not necessarily known for its bands. What’s the music scene like up there? Any up and coming bands to watch out for?

Jon: The music scene here is nearly dead. There used to be an interesting underground rock scene in the abandoned mill buildings around the city, but they were all shutdown after The Station fire in 2003. Most of the proper venues have closed, as well. But it’s not a huge deal for us, we’ve never been a big local attraction. And Boston is close…its music scene is very strong.

Patrick: But there are a few noteworthy bands: Neo Nouveau, Rooftop Suicide Club, and Murkádee. Jon has been working on Neo Nouveau’s new album for a few months at our studio, and the results are great. We played our 2nd show ever with Rooftop Suicide Club. We were both young bands then, and we’ve become good friends since. Murkádee isn’t actually from RI; They are from New Hampshire, another part of the country where it is tough for bands. All three are excellent and deserve to be heard. Look them up on Myspace!!

How does the songwriting process go for the band? What factors influence the band’s songwriting?

Jon: It’s a lot less democratic for us than you might think. Usually, Patrick writes a song and makes a rough demo in GarageBand. He then passes it out to the band, we learn our parts (or compose our own parts if they don’t exist yet), and we play it until it seems to makes sense (and usually make modifications along the way). Sometimes a song makes the transition from “Patrick demo” to “full band rock tune” easily, and sometimes it’s a struggle. “I’m Not The Only One” felt right after the first run-through, while “The Finest Kind” took months to feel right in the live environment.

Patrick: I usually try to cover all the bases before anything gets to the band. I feel like that yields positive results faster. While it isn’t, as Jon said, the most democratic way to work, I feel like there has to be a decision maker in order to get anywhere.

How has the band evolved from its beginning phases?

Patrick: It is definitely more of a band than in the early days. The band evolved out of a bedroom project that included me and, eventually, Jon, and I entertained a Dinosaur Jr.-like fantasy where I’d do most of the recording and then we’d have a live band, but my feelings have changed since then. I’m very pleased to have a band to record with. It makes things so much easier in a studio environment, to be able to sit back and conduct parts.

Jon: And I think we’re a lot more careful with guitar arrangements than we used to be. We’ve realized that three electric guitars can be pretty dangerous…things can get pretty messy very quickly. So we put more time into composing complimentary parts, and tend to shy away from doubling and tripling like we used to.

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

Jon: Like most indie bands, we don’t make a lot of money from CD sales. So speaking selfishly, file sharing is wonderful…It’s just another way for people to learn about our band. But I suppose it is more complicated than that. Our label probably has a different opinion, because it does take money out of their pocket. And I can see how major label artists are more affected by it. But the market will figure it out eventually. I certainly don’t think digital music is the “end of the music business” like some people claim. It may be the “end of the music business as we know it.” Illegal file sharing is just an example of the public realizing the power of digital music on the internet before the industry does. They’re catching up now, though. Most people I know who used to participate in illegal file sharing would now rather log onto iTunes and purchase a song that they know is complete and well-compressed. What’s interesting is digital music will probably result in music shifting back into the “singles” format that used to be popular in the 1960s with 45s and what-not. It may change the way we write and record music.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

Jon: Person Pitch by Panda Bear, anything by Tom Waits. Oh, and Frightened Rabbit.

Patrick: Collective stereo? That is nearly impossible to answer. Personally, I’ve been listening to Lily Allen, The Kid Stays In The Picture by Robert Evans and the new Dinosaur Jr. I’m also looking forward to the new Smashing Pumpkins record.

What’s on the horizon (releases, touring) for the band in the near future?

Jon: Clairecords is releasing Waiting For The Time To Be Right on 180-gram vinyl very soon. That’s exiting for us since we produced the record with the LP format in mind. We’re also are putting together a five song CD/EP called The Moonlit Race EP. It will contain a new tune, and a bunch of live songs from WFTTTBR. I’ll also be spending a bunch of time converting Season 10 of The Simpson’s from VHS to DVD so we have something to watch in the van when we tour the southeast in June.

Patrick: I’ll be isolating myself from the world soon to buckle down on writing new material. That and singing A LOT (I’ve fallen out of regular practice, I’m afraid).

Any last words?

Jon: Go sox.

Patrick: Look out for us on tour this June…and fuck the Sox.

Lemuria are a great pop-punk band from Buffalo, NY. I recently had the pleaure of interviewing Alex Kerns, drummer for the band. Alex also runs a great record label called Art of the Underground. Lemuria recently released a split 7″ with The Ergs and are currently on tour with the band as well. I reviewed the band’s split album with Kind Of Like Spitting last year here. Check out songs and tour dates at Lemuria’s myspace page here.

I am a huge Discount fan. I assume that band was at least a small influence on Lemuria. What are some of the band’s other influences? And how would you describe your sound?

We all enjoy Discount a great deal, although I we got more into Discount after the band formed and people kept comparing us to them. I had a couple songs on compilations that I liked, and then ended up picking up their albums and was like, “ok, yeah, I can see where people are coming from.” When it comes to bands that we’re all collectively most influenced by, I would mention Superchunk, Jawbreaker, Jawbox, and The Lemonheads.

What’s the Buffalo music scene like? Any up and coming bands to watch out for?

The Buffalo scene is excellent. Whether it’s a house show, or a bar show (Mohawk Place is the best bar to play). Buffalo show-goers are very supportive. At the moment some bands that I really love from Buffalo are The Exit Strategy, who are very DC post-hardcore influence. They sound like they should be on Dischord, if they were from DC. There is another great alt-country band called The Old Sweethearts who write very tasteful music, although I don’t think they have any ambitions to play outside of Buffalo. But they’re very Wilco influenced.

How does the song-writing process go for the band? I know all three of you sing in the band. Do you only sing songs you write or is there a crossover? What factors influence the band’s songwriting?

We all sing, mainly it’s Sheena and I. The singer doesn’t reflect the songwriter in the band, the singer is decided when we’re writing the melodies, it’s usually Sheena. Usually our songs are written based around an idea that one of us brings to practice. We build most of our songs from start to finish and write the songs from start to finish figuring out what each of our own parts are going to be. There are a few exceptions where the songs are more based off of a song that one of us brought in and it needed the instrumentation strict to what one of us had in mind. We have our own practice space, which is nice. For awhile we were practicing in the basement of our house, but I felt like our music was influenced by the fact that our roommates were listening in. Which possibly could result in the songwriting becoming timid, and us not having the courage to take more risks when writing the music.

Your label, Art Of The Underground, seems like a throwback to the great vinyl labels of the past. How is the band’s relationship with the label and how important is vinyl to the band?

We like to have all our songs available on vinyl. There a couple songs that are only available on CD, which are compilation tracks. But they’ll eventually someday be on vinyl. Art of the Underground is the label I’ve been running for about 5 years. The relationship with the label and the band is very simple, because we don’t have to ever worry about being on the same page.

How are things going on tour? Any good tour stories to tell so far?

We’re actually not on tour yet! But we’ll be leaving this weekend with The Ergs from New Jersey. We just released a split 7″ with them. It might seem like we’re already on tour because we’ve been playing weekend tours every weekend for the past month. But we’ve been home in Buffalo for the weekdays. I’m sure there will be plenty of good stories once we’re on the road for the long haul.

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

I’m pro-file sharing. I personally like to have the album with the credits, thank you’s, lyrics, and artwork. But if somebody else doesn’t care about that, then I’d rather them have the music than not have it at all. I’ve definitely popped albums from other peoples computers on tour onto the Ipod we have with us, but I usually end up buying the album if I enjoy it. And if I really love the album, I end up buying a lot of copies of it and putting it in the AOTU distro. Also, a lot of times people download albums off of Soulseek, and then they find out about a band they would’ve never heard before. Then when that band comes through town they go pay to see them live, and pick up a shirt or something. I think it all works out.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

The new Dinosaur Jr. Beyond, the new Lemonheads s/t album. Thin Lizzy Black Rose: A Rock Legend is an album we always have on rotation. I’ve personally been listening to a lot of Paul Westerberg lately.

How can I get a hold of all those out-of-print singles from Art Of The Underground?

Depending on which ones you’re looking for! Some are pretty impossible to find, there are a few I see floating around though. You can ask No Idea, Ebullition, or other distros that are known to have them if they have any around.

Any last words?

Thanks for the interview! If you’re ever in Buffalo, go eat at Amy’s Place. 99 cent breakfast.

The American Dollar are an amazing instrumental duo from Queens, NY. I reviewed the band’s second album, The Technicolour Sleep here. Thanks to Rich And John for answering my questions. Check out some of the band’s work at their myspace links below.

www.myspace.com/americandollarmusic

www.myspace.com/americandollarband

How would you describe your sound and what are some of your influences?

We make music that has a number of different dynamics. Overall it’s cinematic, but we achieve this through creating sections that range from ambient to huge orchestral rock. Our vision is to always focus on making the compositions their best. More vaguely, we fit into the ambient, post-rock and electronic genres.

What’s the songwriting and recording process like for the band?

We write and record simultaneously. The last record was written and recorded in something like 25 days. We each play a little of everything. The writing largely starts on keyboards and moves on from there. Rich does the vast majority of the production, and on our last album we outsourced the mastering to a great Mastering Engineer Robert Hadley.

It seems you don’t really hear a lot about bands from Queens. How does Queens fit into the NYC scene?

We never really found much to care about in the NYC or Queens scenes so we just sort of did our own thing and we’re really enjoying being outsiders to all the noise.

In your opinion what is the reason for the rise in popularity of instrumental rock/post-rock?

Formulaic corporate music got to a point where deviation was needed, both by the creators of music as well as its listeners. It’s a natural evolution I suppose. And, messing with a ton of delay just sounds awesome.

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

Well we think everyone on the fucking planet should be given the most chances to listen to our music and like it, and we’d also hope that they would then buy it or something related to it too. So, file sharing is good to the degree that it is not crippling our ability to live off our music, neither of which i think is happening so far; there is a good chance that its worth in publicity equals that of its cost.

You guys have self-released your first two albums. Do you think it’s necessary for a band to be “signed” to be successful?

We discuss this from time to time and have been offered several minor “deals”. It seems to us that being signed is all about participating in the corporate business model of music that has been constructed before our time and is largely artificial, unneeded, and damaging to the original artist(not new news). We don’t believe that that kind of a system applies positively to the music we are creating, nor is really looking for us anyway. That’s not to say that people in the music business can’t offer opportunities we don’t have on our own, but they are few and far between; so then it becomes about finding the best relationships that work for everyone, which can be more difficult when you don’t have pre-made contacts. We don’t really worry about this though, we’re successful as long as we keep creating the best music we possibly can. If we’re offered something that is somehow better than what we can do on our own, we’d certainly think it over, but we’re not jumping ship easily.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

Saxon Shore’s Exquisite Death LP, Ulrich Schnauss’s Einfeld and Isolated Place LP were cooperatively enjoyed the other day. Longwave’s Strangest Things LP was on the speakers recently – we’ll be at their Brooklyn show in June – and we also like to test the fidelity of our studio monitors with Coldplay’s X&Y LP. Additionally, The Album Leaf’s live material has popped up in several car rides.

What’s on the horizon (releases, touring) for the band in the near future?

We have just started on our third album and have about ten minutes of it tracked. We’re really happy with the results and feel we’re taking a step forward musically; if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be keeping the material. And again, we’re writing as we go along, crafting the songs and tracks in realtime. Some of these new works will be featured on an exclusive EP which will be sold at Linus Records in the coming months. Fursy Teyssier is also busy working on his short animated film “Tir Nan Og” which we are in the process of scoring; this project will hopefully be finished by the end of the summer of 2007. Finally, we’re on iTunes which is pretty cool.

Playing live would be really awesome and thinking about it both excites and burdens us because of all the preparation that still would have to go into that area to make it happen. We’ve been in live bands for almost half of our lives, so it’s an odd feeling for us not to be playing out. But in order to make the performance live up to our standards of being incredible, there are still some elements that we both have not and cannot solve yet, such as equipment requirements and personnel. Eventually, when these things come along and the time is right, we will play material live again. The studio is lots of fun anyway!

Any last words?

“This one’s for all the potheads, if they can keep their fuckin’ arms up” -Liam Gallagher

You probably do not know The Rowboats…but you should. I reviewed the band’s debut album, Four Years And Forty Five Minutes here but the release date is still TBA. The band will be playing their first show June 1st at Magnetic Field in Brooklyn, NY (hopefully I will be in attendance). If you are a fan of electronic indie rock then The Rowboats should be topping your playlist. Thanks to Ben and Ted for taking the time to answer some questions.

I find Four Years And Forty Five Minutes to be quite a diverse listen. How would you describe your sound and what are some of your influences?

Ben: I would describe our sound as rock music incubated for a long time on a computer. You can hear this tension between fairly straightforward rock, layered with soundscapes and small details. The rough division of labor is that Ted plays all the rock instruments, I add the electronics, strings and keyboards, and then Ted reins it back in. Our hope is that the finished product is music you would nod your head if you heard it in a room, and go pretty deep into your head with if you heard it on headphones. We used Eno’s Another Green World to forge agreement on overall taste issues. And I would cite dub music, The Beatles and Les Paul in terms of our using the studio as a lab for intuitive experimentation.

For example, for “Eyes Closed,” we manipulated an old stereo with a fluorescent light, using the interference to make these long, unpredictable droning tones. Then we cut them up, added effects and arranged them until we had the ending of “Eyes Closed.” “3,2,1″ started with a loop of Ted’s erratic refrigerator motor, which sort of calls to mind Detroit garage music as far as the syncopated beat is concerned.

How did The Rowboats come together? Besides being long, what was the songwriting and recording process like for Four Years And Forty Five Minutes?

Ted: I moved to NYC in January 2000, and was playing in a band with one of Ben’s roommates. Ben had some recording gear, and we started getting together every week just to try to learn how to record. The stuff was a little goofy at first, I mean, we had a song called “The Non-Sexual Date.” We didn’t set out to be a band– just to learn how to record and make one-off songs for various projects—but after a few years of this, we realized that we had almost forty songs in varying states of completion. A few made it onto Four Years and Forty-Five Minutes, but most of them went in the trash heap. And then we built our record around what was suggested by the songs we had… In general, our songs arose from laying down a single guitar riff, drum pattern, or keyboard loop, and then slowly building up the rest of the tune around it. “3,2,1″, “Vivion” and “Eyes Closed” were written this way. “Crickets All Night” and “Black Chandelier” were songs that were mostly arranged before the recording process started, but those were exceptions.

The use of electronics in indie rock has grown even more prominent year by year. How has that influenced the music of The Rowboats?

Ben: I think that what you’re talking about is reflective of a broad wave in music over the past 100 years. So say a kid gets on stage with a theremin, she’s tapping something that started in World War I-era Russia, but maybe she liked how the Beach Boys or Led Zeppelin used it. I think those long-term trends influence everybody… and 1919 in music isn’t even really such a long view. For us in particular, I would say, things took an interesting turn in 1975–the year that both (Eno’s) Another Green World and Kraftwerk’s Radioactivity got released. It’s entertaining to try to write love letters to that stuff. I also like Terry Riley, Nobukazu Takemura, and Mice Parade a little too much.

Being in a band in NYC would seem almost overwhelming to me? How hard is it to distinguish oneself from the pack? Is that something the band thinks about?

Ted: I think the most important thing is to make music that you believe in creatively, and enjoy playing. I realize this sounds cliché, but it’s true. Trying to willingly fit into some kind of scene strikes me as a slippery slope. Of course, New York can be tough because there are a million bands, but there are also a million venues and millions of people who want to go see good bands, so really it’s just a matter of making good music and putting yourself out there, which we’re in the process of doing. I guess it’s up to the rest of humanity to decide which scene we’re in.

What kind of priority is the band in everybody’s life right now? Is there any thought to making The Rowboats a full-time gig?

Ted: Well, considering that we’re playing our very first show next month, it seems a little early to be thinking about going big-time or whatever. Given the amount of effort that’s already gone into this project, naturally it’s something that does cross one’s mind. The response we’ve gotten from a wide range of people who’ve heard the CD certainly does give us reason for optimism.

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

Ben: It’s weird how, by focusing listeners more on individual tracks, file sharing (and iPods) have added extra amnesia to some already forgetful genres. I also just prefer the way a CD or a record sounds. With a record, from the second the needle lands, you have this shared emotional history before you hear the first note. Maybe in 2053 people will be sentimental for how crappy MP3s sounded on bad headphones. But snobbery aside, my ethos as a listener is the shareware one: Listen to everything, then if you like it, buy it, spend a few years really getting to know it, and support the band how you can.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

Ted:

John Vanderslice, Time Travel is Lonely
Pavement, Brighten the Corners
Hula, The Cloud that Eats Hands
Psychedelic Furs, S/T
Holy Modal Rounders, Good Taste is Timeless
The Sundays, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
Amadou et Mariam, Dimanche a Bamako

Ben: A lot of what Ted said, and I would add all by Manu Chao, the most recent Mendoza Line record, and Louise Attaque’s A Plus Tard Crocodile.

What’s on the horizon (releases, touring) for the band in the near future?

Ted: We’re going to be playing locally until the end of the summer, and then hopefully do some weekend outings in the fall. It also looks like Ben will be playing keyboards for Dean and Britta on some dates this summer.

Any last words?

Ben: Well, we’re looking for a label. If you’re interested in hearing us, drop us a line and we’ll mail you a record. Or come check out one of our shows this summer.

Ted:
box
toaster
aluminum
maple syrup (no, I take that one back. I’m gonna hold onto that one.)

My second band interview is courtesy of Dartz! guitarist Henry Carden. I reviewed the UK band’s excellent debut album, This Is My Ship, earlier this year here. The album remains one of my favorites of 2007 and is a sure bet to make my year end list. The US release of the album should be along later this year. I definitely recommend picking the album up! Thanks to Henry for taking the time.

I hear a definite DC influence on This Is My Ship. Talk about that and what are some of the band’s other influences? How would you describe your sound to someone yet to hear the band?

I can only speak on a personal basis, but it was listening to bands like Faraquet, Medications and Bluetip that made me want to start playing guitar in the first place and collectively, we’re all big fans of Q and Not U. In terms of other influences, we’re all into a lot of different stuff ranging from Bjork to Dillinger Escape Plan to The Police… although it’s probably stuff like Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins and The Decemberists that influence us more directly, as well as British bands like Stapleton, The Futureheads and Idlewild.

How does the songwriting process go for the band? What factors seem to influence the band’s songwriting the most?

Musically it’s very much a collaborative effort with either myself or William (bassist) coming up with an idea and then the three of us mold it into a song. Philip our drummer plays a big part in it as he determines a lot of the rhythms etc, as well as writing most of our lyrics – we used to do it together, but he’s so much better at it than William and I! A lot of the songs on our album have a strong travel theme and the album artwork ties in nicely with that.

There are some definite similarities in style between Dartz! and some other UK bands I have heard recently (Free Diamonds, Hot Club De Paris). What’s going on over there?

There’s been a pretty vibrant DIY/underground UK scene for years now but just recently, a lot more bands are starting to kind of explore avenues outside of the underground which in a way is pretty exciting. Bands like ourselves and Hot Club De Paris who’ve been raised on a healthy dose of punk rock are now getting a bit more mainstream attention. I saw Hot Club De Paris playing live on Channel 4 (national TV channel over here in the UK) a couple of nights ago and I just thought how surreal it was hearing a very kind of Owls/Make Believe/Storm & Stress style sound being delivered to such a mainstream audience! There’s always been exciting bands kicking about in the UK like Spy Vs Spy, And None Of Them Knew They Were Robots and Dugong to name but a few, but none of them ever really got their music heard by enough people for my liking.

As far as you can tell, what are some of the main differences between the US and UK music scenes? Any up and coming bands to watch out for in the UK?

To be honest, I’m not too sure what the US music scene is like in terms of gigs and labels etc, I’m just aware of a few bands… there always seems to be so many bands over there that excite me. At the moment it’s stuff like Cinemechanica (yet again!), Maps and Atlases and Georgie James – I don’t how they’re perceived in the US but to me, those bands are incredible. Hopefully I’ll get to see them play live one day soon. As for UK bands, there’s a band called Foals who I can’t stop listening to right now. They supported us at their first ever gig but they’ve come a long way since then and just signed to a very nice label indeed – Transgressive. The laziest way to describe them is like a more poppier Battles but however you want to describe them, they’re definitely an excellent band. There’s an indie-rock band from London called Tellison who everybody should check out too – www.myspace.com/tellison – they’ve got an album coming out shortly and it’s a fantastic selection of British indie-rock with a kind of Get Up Kids/Mineral vibe in places too.

X-tra Mile seems to be an up and coming label in the UK. How’s the relationship been for the band?

It’s been good! We had a lot of record label interest early on in the band’s life from all spectrums of the music “industry” – from ridiculously big labels to lovely little DIY labels. I think we found a happy middle ground with Xtra Mile. It’s an independent label but they don’t let that be an excuse for being lazy or disorganised like a lot of the more DIY “punk rock” labels over here do… it’s been a very interesting experience for us and although it was a tough decision deciding who to release the album with, I think we definitely made the right decision. A lot of people seem to think that because it’s not a DIY label, we get told what we have to do and all that kind of thing, but it’s not like that at all. They’re really supportive and just leave us up to our own devices most of the time!

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

I don’t really know! It was very peculiar for us just before our album was released because somebody “leaked” it onto a load of those torrent sites and yousendit etc… so a couple of weeks before it was released, loads of people already owned it! I kind of felt a bit uncomfortable about that especially as we’d put so much effort into creating an all round “package” with the recording, mastering and art work process. People who’d downloaded it were missing out on our friend Dave House’s amazing artwork! But then, the only reason people were downloading it was because they really like our band and couldn’t wait to hear our album, which was really humbling. I for one occasionally download the odd track by bands and if I like it, I buy their record when I can afford it… for smaller bands like ourselves I guess file sharing is a good way of getting heard so if it means more people coming to our gigs, buying our records etc in the long run then that’s cool.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

Saves The Day! The last tour we did, we had Stay What You Are on in the van almost all of the time. Amazing.

What’s on the horizon (releases, touring) for the band in the near future? Any word on a US label for This Is My Ship? Any plans for a US tour?

We actually put pen to paper for the US release of ‘This Is My Ship’ a few days ago… we’re very excited! I don’t know if I’m allowed to say who it is but all I will say is that when I was 16/17/18, it was my favourite label in the world so it’s amazing to have them putting out our music. Hopefully it’ll lead to a US tour – that’s certainly something we’ll be looking to do in the coming months.

(I know the US label but my lips are sealed. Congrats to everyone involved!)

Any last words?

Just the predictable links: www.myspace.com/darts and www.dartzisgood.co.uk – cheers!

Here is the inaugural band interview on SAL.  A big thanks to vocalist/bassist Patrick Keenan of The Winter Sounds who was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions. The band is in the middle of a non-stop touring schedule. You can take a look at the band’s lengthy tour dates on their myspace page here. The band’s official debut album, Porcelain Empire, comes out on June 26th via Livewire Recordings. Do yourself a favor and check out The Winter Sounds.

How would you describe your sound and what are some of the band’s main influences?

Our sound is probably new wave indie rock.
Beatles, Beach Boys, the Futureheads, Cursive, Minus the Bear, Sufjan Stevens, Hall and Oates (what?), Tears for Fears, the Cure, the Smiths, Doves

The Athens scene is certainly legendary. What’s the current state of the scene? Any up and coming bands to watch out for?

I think that Athens music scene is amazing. There are so many incredible acts coming up all the time that it’s actually very intimidating. Cinemechanica and Dark Meat are super-cool.

How has living in the South influenced your songwriting? What’s the song-writing process like for the band?

I would really only be guessing and making a lot of generalizations regarding the first part of this question. Referring to broad statements about the South means contrasting it with the North. The South is a whole different culture. What has influenced me the most in my life was probably being raised Catholic in the South and eventually breaking from that influence only to drift in a sea of spiritual uncertainty. The culture of the South certainly adds to that overall picture and I would be quite different if I’d undergone the same changes in the North. But the influence of the South is too much and I find myself wanting to name so many things I see and feel about the South. In the end, I find I am just describing my experiences growing up and that each one created who I am and my music is just an extension of that.

To me songwriting is following a passion and then working towards seeing it reach its fullest potential. You never forget an idea, you never do anything half-ass. I have some songs that are very old that are constantly being modernized by the latest musical influences. I try not to leave songs behind. There is usually something worth salvaging in every spontaneous idea that is captured.

The Winter Sounds have a healthy dose of upcoming tour dates. How important is it for you guys to stay on the road and be a full-time band?

Well, since we’ve committed to being a full-time band, our only income is from our gigs so we have to keep playing. If we were to stop, we’d need to find a place to stay and a way to eat, pay bills, etc. so we’d need to get a home which means sign a lease and we’d need to pay for that so we’d need a job, etc, and even though we’d make a whole helluva lot more money by working full-time versus gigging full-time, we’d also have a lot more in bills and we wouldn’t be touring, which is the kicker so our career would advance a lot slower.

We are taking a leap of faith by doing this. We are hoping that with the right amount of work and the right music and the right combination of luck and faith and friendship and all that good fortune, we are setting ourselves up for a future career as musicians, writers and performers.

What’s the band’s opinion on file-sharing?

I’ve actually been asked this question a bunch and here is my updated answer. I enjoy file-sharing and I think it is good for up and coming bands. The problem is that bands eventually need a label and management and all that crap. Labels make their money back from the sale of the CD. Bands make their money from their touring. So file-sharing works for the bands but not for the labels. An album that’s passed around the internet like crazy will guarantee a big turnout for shows. It won’t necessarily mean that people will buy the CD especially if they already own it. So bands will make good money touring, but meanwhile the label can’t sell the record and make their money back. This could potentially mean that labels would become more and more reluctant to invest in a new band, which means that a lot of talent could go undiscovered. Or it may mean that for a band to become successful, they just need to write good songs and float those songs around the internet until everyone agrees that this band (that no one’s ever heard of) is some new hot shit. In which case, they probably wouldn’t need a label to come in, investing and promoting.

So, all in all, my opinion is that nothing will kill the music business especially not file-sharing. If anything, file-sharing might make it more pure and less driven by marketing dollars. Things will change and some small labels might go under; some big labels might go under, but people will always find ways to profit off of music.

Do you think it’s necessary for a band to be “signed” to be successful?

Being “signed” has been a big learning process for us. I believe if I started over right now, I could take a new band to the same level we’re at now without a label by just doing certain things that I wouldn’t have thought of before. So, even though it took us signing for me to realize those things or how much power or control I had before, I’m thankful that a lot of the managerial and marketing burdens are shared. Promoting your music is the full time job of anyone who is interested. There is a whole competitive network out there and we’re now just another band fighting for airwaves. Its not up to an artist to successfully navigate a business model through capitalist waters. People can do it. But that leaves you no time to be an artist. I can’t wait for the day we are freed of the responsibilities of booking and general day to day managerial stuff. Because the goal is to get up in the morning travel to a strange new place every day, read and look and listen, absorb new experiences and find a way to communicate that in a song, all while appreciating what we have.

You can be successful without a label and all that entails but that doesn’t give you much time left to be an artist.

What’s been playing on the band’s collective stereo lately?

Donovan (The Winter Sounds drummer extraordinaire) was DJ today and played some Cold War Kids, John Vanderslice, Spoon, French Kicks, Beatles, Joanna Newsom.

What’s on the horizon for the band in the near future?

We’re working on an acoustic set where we all play new different instruments. Including, but not limited to: accordion, violin, flute, bells, mandolin, banjo. The main goal is to keep touring the States until around Thanksgiving. Right around that time Porcelain Empire is being released in the UK and Europe and we’ll have the month of December off, then follow the album overseas with a two to three month tour of Europe and the UK. Then mid 08 new album. That’s the plan. We’ll see….

Any last words?

Nickelback