Category Archives: Interview

Electronic, House, Indie, Interview, Music, Music Video, Rock, Techno

Interview: Steve Smith of Dirty Vegas

19 March, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

This interview is actually over a year old. It posted on 02/07/2008 on Blogcritics.org. Rather than archive it I decided to share it with you today:

It wasn’t so long ago that a British house rock/pop trio took the world by storm. The band was called Dirty Vegas and released their debut album including a track named “Days Go By”. This track soon made its way into the clubs and onto airwaves gaining lots of attention. The band consisted of three gentlemen who formed the group in 2001 thanks to a little love song that vocalist Steve Smith wrote for someone special. The song, originally an acoustic track, took a twist and was transformed into a dance club hit. The song even earned the trio a Grammy in 2003.

The band earned gross amounts of fame but due to low sales on Dirty Vegas’ sophomore album the hype simmered down and soon two of the trio called it quits. Steve Smith however did not have any intentions of quitting the music scene and recorded his own music. He actually had been recording music all of his life and now found it the right time after a break to release it. This Town was recently released as a solo project by Steve Smith who relocated from the UK to Boston with his wife. The CD is more of a personal project to Steve Smith, his best work yet.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Steve Smith. In between changing guitar strings and baby diapers (he and his wife just had a newborn) Steve Smith took some time to answer some questions about the past, present, and future of his musical career.

Why such the long hiatus?

Well, when Ben and Paul left in 2005, I decided to have some time away from music to really get my head around what I wanted to do. I moved to the US in early 2006 and began to feel really inspired. I started to write a lot of music and spent the year collecting songs for my solo album. I also began my dream of writing music for film by scoring the brilliant movie, Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down and for the FOX show Standoff.

Why did the band disband? I know everyone was growing mature and going their own ways but were there any other reasons?

Well, we we’re in a bad situation with our record company and Ben and Paul felt that we had taken the band as far as we could, but I truly felt there was more to come.

The band Dirty Vegas took the world by storm. You wrote a song “Days Go By” that was transformed from an acoustic track to a techno hit. What were your original thoughts on manipulating your original cut?

I have always loved the idea of taking a song where you wouldn’t necessarily expect it to go!

So who was “Days Go By” exactly written about?

My then girlfriend Charlotte, who is now my wife (songs always win a girls heart!)

Any plans ever of maybe creating another Dirty Vegas release in the future?

Who knows!

Once the band split up you got back together with your long time girlfriend (now wife) and moved to Boston. Why Boston? I know it is an amazing city but I am just curious.

I have always felt that Boston has a very European feel to it. It has a great music scene and I have discovered a lot of creative people live/work here.

How was the transition from London to Boston for you?

Very smooth! The people of Massachusetts have been great to us.

How long before you decided it was time to release a self-titled album?

It kind of happened when I started to play friends some of the songs. The more I played them, the more people said I must get this stuff out there!

Is there a possibility you may tour in support of this release?

Absolutely! I cannot wait to get out there and perform the songs in front of people.

Can we expect a follow up to This Town sooner than later?

Anything is possible.

Who would you say are your musical influences?

I would say that growing up it was everything from Pink Floyd to Marvin Gaye. I was always listening to the Top 40 and raiding my brothers and sisters record collection. So I got to hear Joan Armatrading and Neil Young [because of them]. When I heard Neil Young’s After the Goldrush album it blew my mind.

I am still amazed that the actor John Savage from the Deer Hunter agreed to perform a spoken word on the first track of your CD. How did he get involved? He is the last person I would ever expect to speak on an album, yet it seemed so perfect once I heard it.

Every guest on the record was someone that naturally came along. My manager was in a furniture store and spotted John. She told him about the song and he agreed to come along and we just spoke about his life experiences and the message of the song. That was one of many incidents that happened with the recording of the album.

Speaking of incidences, you were also able to recruit a violinist for the track “Smile” who in turn wrote a piece that was the favorite of your father. Do you think that was pure coincidence or a calling?

That was another one of those natural moments with the record. I still cannot believe that the actual guy that performed the solo parts of my late father’s favorite pieces of music, came and performed on a song about him! A calling I’d say. And my old man is looking down laughing.

Can you tell me a little about your father? Was he a music lover as well?

My dad was never a professional musician but my mother told me he had a beautiful voice as a young man, and people would often ask him to sing in pubs and parties.

You are definitely a multi-talented individual with the ability to play acoustic guitar as well as spin house sets. Which do you prefer over the other?

I am a very lucky person that gets to experience the buzz of a dance floor move to a pumping bass line as well as sing with an acoustic guitar in a small folk club. Both have amazing energies that I find complete polar opposites but have the same rewards!

When did you learn to play guitar? Was it before or after you learned percussion?

I learned to play the guitar quite late, I was around 21. I had been playing percussion, but needed to learn a melodic instrument to craft the songwriting.

In your spare time you continue to guest DJ. What is different these days about the club scene as opposed to yesteryear? Are there things you miss about the overseas club scene?

I think with the way the internet is now, you can hear a brand new track played in Ibiza (Spain) and [in] Kansas on the same night! Gone are those days of the kid in the middle of nowhere ordering a track from a record store 6 months after it was first heard in NYC.

Do you still communicate with any of the DJs from the past you once toured with such as Sasha or Paul Oakenfield?

Sometimes you see DJ’s/Musicians that you have worked with over the years, I have been going to Ibiza for many years and there is always a familiar face there.

Do you think the DJ / techno genre will make a comeback in the states?

I think all genres of music will have exciting times ahead, just look at the festival line-ups now, Rock Bands, DJ’s… there all there.
The song “Late Nights and Street Fights” was the main theme for Fox’s now defunct Standoff. How were you able to land that?

The music supervisor for that show had used Dirty Vegas music before and heard I was recording my solo album, and asked if I had a rock song that could suit. I played them “Late Night” and they loved it.

You won a Grammy while in Dirty Vegas for the song “Days Go By”. I am just curious if you display it in your home or use it as a paperweight?

It’s on the mantle-piece

Any plans for the future?

Well, I want to head out and play live shows to support the solo album, and then I am looking at scoring a musical with the director of Boys and Girls Guide and of course Dirty Vegas.

Why should people check out This Town?

Because it is the best piece of work I have ever done.

Steve Smith’s This Town is available on G.A.S. Records. For a sneak peak at his self titled release and to see if he’ll be touring in your area you can visit his website or his MySpace page. Word is Steve Smith and Dirty Vegas are working on new material. More to come about that…

Until then, here are some videos to keep you entertained:

The song that started it all… Still love this video too:

Download This!, Folk, Interview, Music, Music Video

Interview: Doris Muramatsu of Girlyman

13 March, 2009 Brian Mc 4 Comments

When I hear the term “Girlyman” I immediately think of a certain Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit featuring Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon playing Hans and Franz the Austrian bodybuilders who where said to be cousins of action bodybuilder superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger. I still laugh at those skits…

The Girlyman I am referring to though is not associated with SNL or even the current governor of California. Instead I speak of a three piece folk act originally from New York City. I was introduced to them through my wife who has a love, almost obsession, for them. She shared them with me one day after saying “We’re still making payments on the cannon” and I had no idea what she was talking about. After giving her a puzzled look she told me about the Girlyman band. She sampled some songs to me and I found myself quite interested in them.

Girlyman is a trio of harmonic performers, rather best friends, who have stated they play “harmony-driven gender pop” featuring “leading edge three-part harmony folk-pop”. Consisting of Nate Borofsky, Doris Muramatsu, and Ty Greenstein, the band has a huge following with their “gender pop” music.

Gender pop? That’s right folks all of the members from this band are involved in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community one way or another. Don’t let that hold you back though because if you do you are missing out on some amazing harmonic folk music with heavy doses of comedic interludes, especially when seen live. Think Rupaul meets Simon & Garfunkel with more folk harmony then you have ever heard before. Where a lot of the songs are fun, many have meaning about life, love, and living but all with perfect collaborated vocals from all three members.

Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Doris Muramatsu, the “tootsie roll center of Girlyman”, who has the duties of vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin and banjo in the band. The multi-talented musician was more than kind to answer some questions for me.

Doris, Ty, & Nate = Girlyman — Doris + Ty + Nate = Girlyman

So what exactly is a Girlyman?

A Girlyman is whatever you want it to be, just someone who is nontraditional in some sort of way or like to play with gender roles or isn’t afraid to have a sensitive side.

How would you describe Girlyman to someone who has never heard of you before?

We’re a folk pop trio of almost lifelong friends who sing traditional and nontraditional three part harmonies and play multiple instruments and like to laugh and be ourselves on stage.

When you started creating music was it clear you all wanted a more folk sound? Was the harmony always there between the three of you or did it need some fine tuning? I have to admit your combined harmony is all so appealing.

Ty and I started singing harmony when we were 12 years old and have always been fascinated by the beauty of interweaving voices. Our voices blended very well and we knew we wanted to write and sing music that was harmony-based. When we met Nate his voice seemed to naturally blend with ours, so it was a go. Of course there is always fine tuning whenever harmony is involved, for instance, we have realized that if we all don’t sing a certain vowel in the exact same way it will sound out of tune, so we’re always examining how the lead person is pronouncing that vowel.

Who/what are your influences for the music you create?

Growing up, I fell in love with Simon & Garfunkel. I listened to the Mamas and the Papas a lot too as well as old Jefferson Airplane and the Bee Gees. Indigo Girls, The Story, Patty Griffin were also [other] people who influenced me.

I understand that you and Ty have been best friends since elementary school. When did the two of you decide to start your first band The Garden Verge?

We officially started up the Garden Verge out of college although we had been signing together as a duo since middle school.

How and when did you meet up with Nate?

We met Nate [during] our sophomore year at Sarah Lawrence College at a cross-dress cabaret [that was more] like a talent show with more gender-bending. He was backstage [while] Ty and I were singing an Indigo Girls song to warm up. He came [up to us] and joined us out of the blue. We were insta-friends.

How was it being cramped up in NYC trying to start a band? Where are you currently residing?

It didn’t feel cramped at first. [It was] mostly just really exciting and creative time for us all. Of course our first rehearsal for Girlyman was scheduled for September 11th [and] after witnessing the events of that day we were shocked and speechless. We didn’t really know what to do but all that felt right to do was to be together, make music, and share it. So that was the birth of Girlyman; formed in the spirit of upliftment.

After seven years of living together and touring together, however, things did start to feel small and cramped. We were basically living on top of each other with no privacy and the need for expansion, both creatively and physically, became paramount. Nate and Ty moved to Atlanta in 2007 and I chose to stay in Brooklyn [NY] for another year but [soon] joined them in 2008. We all live separately now but happily see each other practically every day.

What types of venues did you first start playing at? Did you have success from the get go or was it more of a slow start?

We played at little coffeehouses and churches as well as some lunchtime college gigs. We just kept building out audience from the get go and even though we didn’t shoot up into massive fame, we definitely started climbing slowly but steadily.

Your live shows are full of humor and fun, especially in between songs. When did live Girlyman shows turn almost into a stand up performance or has it always been like that?

I have always been a pretty shy person in front of large crowds and I think it was hard for Ty and me [as Garden Verge] to be as funny as we are in private. When Nate joined the group he added an element of humor and improvisation that allowed us all to be more relaxed and silly together. It’s a strength in numbers thing I think. I also thing it keeps things interesting for us to do or day things on stage that makes each other laugh because then every show feels like its own thing. We need to keep things light and fresh in order for the [live] show to feel fun for us too.

In 2006, OUTmusic awarded Girlyman for the OUTSong of the year for “Young James Dean”, how did this make you all feel?

We were really honored! It always means a lot when something you’ve created reaches people and speaks to them in a significant way.

What can you tell someone about OUTmusic who has never heard of the organization before?

OUTmusic is a wonderful organization that connects [the] lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual musicians, composers, producers, and artists [together]. It works to create opportunities and tried to raise awareness for the growing number of us [LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender)] out there.

I understand you are currently touring and will be performing at a couple of folk festivals as well. Having sold out venues before how exciting is it to be on the road?

We love being on the road and we love being at home too. It’s a balance but we are doing exactly what we want to do and have so much fun doing it. Sure being on the road has its challenges, like endless drives and late hours, but when we’re on stage and connecting with each other and the audience it is always worth it no matter now many people show up. It’s the energy from the audience that really helps us keep going.

How long have you actually been touring now?

We have been touring since 2001 when we first became a band.

Do you prefer festivals or venues?

I prefer venues because I find it’s easier to connect with people. Festivals are fun because there’s a feeling of celebration but I also get distracted by all that’s going on… like all the funnel cakes and hot dog stands!

Where is your favorite venue to play? Is there a favorite city you all enjoy?

I love Club Passim in Cambridge, MA, Old Town School of Folk in Chicago, Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA, but there are so many! We love New York City of course, and the Bay Area, but Atlanta’s pretty great too.

How are the lodging arrangements when you travel? Have you ever crashed in the van?

Thanks to Priceline.com lodging is fantastic! We often stay in three star hotels which makes us feel rich and comfortable. We don’t stay overnight in the van though we have a loft and a refrigerator set up in it. It’s too small for all of us [to sleep in].

Who usually takes up the driving duties on the road? Is there anyone in the band who is not allowed to drive?

Everyone takes turns driving although I can’t parallel park the Sprinter [van] for the life of me [as it’s] 21 feet long. Ty is not allowed to drive at night because she usually falls asleep.

Any crazy touring stories you want to share? Maybe a run in with the law or just something drunk and hilarious?

Well, the scariest thing that happened on the road was when we hit a deer at two in the morning in the middle of Wyoming and the Sprinter broke down. Nate and I didn’t have cell[phone] service but Ty thankfully did; but only when she stood a few feet from the van. We had to get towed 200 miles to the nearest Dodge dealership in Montana. When the tow truck came and started towing us it broke down too, so we had to wait until [the tow truck] got fixed.

Finally after a scary drive where the driver [of the tow truck] kept falling asleep and running [over] all [of] the rumble strips on the highway we arrived in Billings, MT at seven in the morning. We had to stay there for a couple of days while out manager found a U-Haul truck that could fit three of us in the cab. [We] then made our way though treacherous, snow-covered passes in Washington state [on the way] to Seattle. We were [all] totally traumatized by the whole experience.

You’ve been in Cleveland a few times now. Just curious what you think of the city as it is my hometown. Any favorite memories?

Our favorite time in Cleveland was when we played at Cleveland Pride. They put us up in a fancy hotel and we shared the stage with Rupaul.

Do you think the folk festivals may help recruit new fans who may not necessary be involved in the LGBT community?

Some of our fans are part of the LGBT community, but just as many are not. We have a wide range of fans of all ages and identities.

Not everyone is accepting of the LGBT community unfortunately, have you ever had problems with people while out on the road?

It’s funny, we have a lot of people who, not knowing our music, initially feel put off by our man, but then when they hear us they immediately get over it or feel surprised that they actually like our music. Other than that, I think we’ve been lucky that we haven’t had many incidents being a queer band.

Tell me about your “Girlyfans”.

Out Girlyfans are our best support network. They are the ones who help promote us and bring new people to our shows. We couldn’t tour and do this for a living without them.

Can you tell me about the Brauner VMA that many of the Girlyfans helped raise money for you all to acquire? It looks like a masterpiece of a microphone. How is it working out for you?

It IS a masterpiece of microphones. It’s a handmade microphone from Germany and sounds out of this world. We are really happy with the sound quality we’re getting out of it.

When can your fans expect some new material to be released?

We are hoping for a fall release of our new studio album, although we’ve been playing out a lot of our new stuff at shows.

What’s next for Girlyman?

More of everything! We love how life just presents us with the next logical stay and that we’re brave enough to take it.

Just one last question… Are you still making payments on the cannon?

Of course!!!

-For more information about Girlyman check out their website.

-Girlyman is still on tour and will actually be making a pit stop in Ohio at the Oberlin Folk Festival.

-Download This! (rather sample…) – Girlyman – “Young James Dean”
-Download This! (rather sample…) – Girlyman – Cannons Skit

-Here are a couple of videos:

Hardcore, Interview, Music, Punk

Interview: Todd Kowalski of Propaghandi

8 March, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Nothing's slowing these guys down... — Propaghandi

Hardcore punk rockers Propaghandi may be getting up there in age but have no intentions of slowing down. On the verge of releasing an all new album entitled Supporting Caste, the band continues to spread their thoughts through song on real causes that actually mean something. Focusing on real current events, the band are more activists over performers. Having been around for over twenty years it is nice to see this band continue on with what they love to do.

Recently I had the chance to chat it up with the bassist of Propaghandi Todd Kowalski. He was more than happy to answer some questions for me.

You guys have been around since 1986 right? How challenging has it been to be a punk band for over 20 years?

I joined a mere 12 years ago but I’d say despite wanting to bite each others eyes out a few times we’ve been ticking along pretty good. I think the fact that we all like the songs we’re trying to make is a big factor in it all working. if we didn’t like what we were hearing it would turn us into pustulous blobs with fangs.

How long did it take for Propagandhi to start touring outside of Canada and around the world?

I think the first Propagandhi tour to the U.S. was around 92. They went down to the west Coast.
I remember it clearly but wasn’t in the band yet. Our friends Regal and Keith were the roadies, those guys had the van. I thought that was so cool that they all went on tour. I never knew anyone who traveled with their band before.

Who are some of your favorite bands you toured with in the past?

My favorite was Los Crudos who I played four or 5 shows with in about 95 they blew my mind!! This wasn’t with Propagandhi though it was with another band [I was in] called I Spy. It’s all the same to me. We’re all friends playing music.

When you were just starting to play punk rock music, who were your musical influences? Has that changed today?

Today my biggest musical influence, Sacrifice, just sent me two new songs off their upcoming record. They haven’t recorded for about 18 years. These songs blew my head right off my shoulders. They are the best band of all time! Besides them I was in [to and] am still 100% into SNFU, RAZOR, Nomeansno, Voivod and DEATH. That hasn’t changed at all. I like new bands too but these bands have been on rotation for 20 years non stop!!

When did you start becoming move aware of your surrounding and stepped up to spread to the close minded?

I started to slowly become aware of things over a long period of time. I was very, very much a part of the small city mentality growing up. I had to see people get hurt and upset by certain things first hand before I started to wise up. I think the punk bands that I started to listen to when I was in junior high slowly helped me make sense of what I was trying to figure out. It’s been a slow ongoing process .

Your high level approach at everything that goes wrong on this world opened up my eyes when I was younger through your music and from just reading about what causes you were involved in. Was there anyone who helped turn you into an activist of sorts?

As far as bands, I’d say MDC, C.O.C were the biggest influences for a while and later I was really influenced by Born Against, Maliftingbanner, Los Crudos and bands like that. As far as people I think it was a lot of people including my Mom who would always go out of her way for people. I always appreciated that.

I understand many of the band follow a vegan lifestyle. How tough is it for you when touring the world to keep to it?

It’ s generally really, really easy. There is a million [of] choices of things to eat besides meat and dairy and crap like that. It’s well worth the small effort. We end up eating way better than if we were stopping and eating burgers and fries everyday. The hardest place for us was Japan just because we couldn’t decipher the ingredients to things we were looking at. That’s our own problem, though. The food was available.

Were any obstacles ever thrown in the band’s path that make you ever want to give up?

The main obstacles are the frustration at momentary or lengthy lack of ability to achieve our personal visions [with] a lot of this being due to a bit of a lack of natural talent. We work hard to get where we’re trying to go.

Propaghandi has a new album coming out this month called Supporting Caste can you tell me about it?

Yeah, We’re really excited about it. There’s 14 new songs of different types. I think it’s our best effort yet. We worked hard to improve our skills and write the best songs we could. I think it turned out pretty good. If it’s no good it’s certainly not because of a lack of effort!

Recently on your website a couple of MP3’s from the new album were offered for legal download in exchange for donations for as little as $1.00 that will go towards worthy causes. Your request for donations was quite bold almost commanding fans to do something good in return for a sample of for what is to come. How was the response to this?

That’s turned out really well so far. We’ve raised a lot of money for those organizations and they seem to appreciate it. We’re hoping people check out what they’re doing and learn something about it. That’s the real point of it (laughs), yeah it’s bold, and we like insulting our listeners but everybody knows it’s a joke. Those who don’t get mad and amuse those who do. We all win!

You are slated to play the Harvest Of Hope festival in Florida this March. How does that make you feel being a part of this important benefit show?

Yeah, that’s a good benefit. We’re happy to be a part of it. The vibe and spirit of this festival is so much better than the corporate, crap, [and] useless festivals like the Warped Tour that have been thrown at people. We usually haven’t played festivals but if it’s a good one, we’ll be there!

Are there any acts appearing on the Harvest Of Hope festival you are excited to see or have previously toured with?

We’ve played two shows with Strike Anywhere before. I’m excited to see Bad Brains!! Most of the other bands I haven’t heard before so it should be good!

Propagandhi was one of the earlier bands to start with Fat Wreck Chords. I know that Supporting Caste will be released on the indie label G7 Welcoming Committee Records (that was actually started by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky of Prop.). How does it feel to have been a part of the Fat Wreck Chord family and then move on?

I think we did all we could with Fat. It’s time to start a fresh slate and prepare to go full tilt with people who are on the same page as us. We’re very happy about it.

In April of 2008 it was announced that G7 would cease to release new material and October of 2008 it was reiterated. While still providing downloads it looked as if the label was finished, what was this all about? What happened to change the mind of G7 to release Supporting Caste?

Derek from G7 moved to Halifax and left Chris stewing in his own juices in the G7 office. I guess they figured enough is enough. But we [all] wanted to put out the Propagandhi record, so we did it on G7.

Will this mark the last release for Propagandhi?

Hell no, we’re just getting started!

You have rocked out in the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s. Was there a certain decade you favored over the others while performing as a band?

I think the 80’s were the best. Pop music sucked and always will suck but before the 80’s there was no speed metal, death metal, hardcore, barely any punk that interest me, no thrash metal, doom metal, power metal etc. (laughs) That all truly came to be in the 80’s. For my tastes and love of speed it blew my little mind to pieces.

The late 80’s cheese metal and pop and the 90’s sucked total crap except for a handful of bands. Born Against etc… and DEATH were great of course!! I hated Nu Metal, Grunge, Pop punk and all that. What a sickened musical state. Recently there is a lot of bands that I think are great. The new Sacrifice record, Krisiun, Cynic, Immolation, Necrophagist…man, they all rule!!

So what’s next for Propagandhi?

Next on the itinerary is more touring then we’ll work on new songs every chance we get!!! Watch out!!

Supporting Caste will be released on March 10^th on G7 Welcoming Committee Records. Make sure you pick up your copy and support this long running punk rock act!

Look for Propagandhi to make a return to the road in support of their recent release. The band just finished playing a slot at the annual Harvest Of Hope Festival that just ended and will continue the US before heading overseas.

The Harvest Of Hope festival, if you have not heard, is a three-day outdoor music festival in St. Augustine, FL that is held to benefit Harvest of Hope: www.harvestofhope.net . The nonprofit organization was founded in Gainesville, FL a little over a decade ago to provide social services to migrant farm workers and their families in the U.S. Since then, HOH has raised and spent over $700,000 to pay for gas, tires, car repairs, rent, utilities, medical services, food, clothing, funeral expenses and educational scholarships in low income migrant worker communities. For more information about the festival itself or on how you can help please visit www.harvestofhope.com

Propaghandi On Tour:
03/08/09 – Atlanta, GA, USA
03/10/09 – Virginia Beach, VA, USA
03/11/09 – Baltimore, MD, USA
03/12/09 – New York, NY, USA
03/13/09 – Brooklyn, NY, USA
03/14/09 – Philadelphia, PA, USA
03/15/09 – Cambridge, MA, USA
03/20/09 – Winnipeg, MB, Canada
03/21/09 – Winnipeg, MB, Canada
04/17/09 – Sheffield, UK
04/18/09 – Bristol, UK
04/19/09 – London, UJ
04/20/09 – Brighton, UK
04/21/09 – Norwich, UK
04/23/09 – Cologne, Germany
04/24/09 – Munich, Germany
04/25/09 – Solothurn, Switzerlan
04/26/09 – Bologna, Italy
04/28/09 – Rome, Italy
04/29/09 – Venice, Italy
05/01/09 – Prague, Czech Republic

For more info on the band feel free to check out:

www.propagandhi.com
www.myspace.com/propagandhi
www.smallmanrecords.com
www.g7welcomingcommittee.com
www.mutinypr.com

90's, Interview, Music, Music Video, Post-Hardcore, Random, Rock, Times Of Yore

Stompbox Bassist Tells His Story

25 October, 2008 Brian Mc 45 Comments

One of the cool things about having a blog site is just the total randomness. I posted a blog a couple weeks ago about post-hardcore now defunct band Stompbox in my new Times Of Yore posts.

Apparently one of the former band members happened to come across my post and shot me an email asking if I wanted some elaboration on what really happened. The band member was Patrick, the former bassist of Stompbox.

Well of course I did. So I interviewed him…

I sent him back an email asking what really happened to the band and what he and the rest of the band members were up to these days. Here are his responses collectively as I’ve mixed up the few emails we exchanged and categorized them with Patrick’s approval of course.

The reason Stompbox called it quits, what happened to the lead singer Erich, and what direction did the band members took:

The reason Erich left the band is that we asked him to. There are/were rumors flying around that drugs had a lot to do with our breakup, but that’s all blown way out of proportion. Sure, Erich was doing drugs, (as were most of the rest of us) but it didn’t bother any of us much. Erich was (and still is) kind of a dick. By “kind of a dick” I mean a real a–hole. In addition to that, he was… …uh, let’s just say he was an inconsistent singer. When he was on, he was great, but a lot of times he was off. Way off. There’s some live recordings that Jeff has that are just brutal. Also, we had some very fundamental differences in what we wanted to do musically.

Erich was in favor (and in hindsight, he was probably right) of “giving the people what they want”. All the kids that came to our shows really wanted the “big riff” so they could get sick in the pit and hurt each other, and (except for the part about hurting each other…we were very “Fugazi” about that and stopped a lot of shows when fights broke out etc…) he (Erich) was perfectly happy with that.

The rest of us wanted to be “artists” and “express ourselves musically”. Again, hindsight (or maybe cynicism) tells me that we were probably foolish.

So, we gave him the boot and changed the name of the band to Slower. We wrote a bunch of new tunes and did a couple more tours. We added a second bass player (Mikey Welch, who later was in Weezer for an album) and I took over vocals. I wish I had some good recordings of that band, but there just isn’t much around. I’ve got some abysmal recordings from a show we did in Seattle, but it was straight off the board, so pretty much all you can hear is the drums and vocals. It’s brutally bad. There’s a tape from a live radio show that I have, but it’s in pretty crappy condition, much of it is all garbled up. Zephan’s ex-girlfriend supposedly has a ton of live Slower video, but they didn’t exactly break up on very good terms. I guess when your boyfriend breaks up with you by telling you he married somebody else, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Go figure. Zephan is a phenomenal drummer, but he’s a bit on the self centered side!

We did one tour billed as Stompbox still, and used that to introduce the “new sound” to people who were into Stompbox. Some people liked it more, some liked in less. (On one of those tours we played with Jesus Lizard at Peabody’s in Cleveland…David Yow drank me under the table and then went out and played their show. I guess he’s got what’s called an “iron constitution”…Ha! I was so tanked I had to pass out in our van after about two Jesus Lizard songs. Good times!)

After those two tours, we just sort of imploded.

Zephan and Mikey Welch [went on to] play with Juliana Hatfield on her attempt at rocking out called “Juliana’s Pony”. Jeff is [currently] the musical director for the Blue Man Group in NYC now.

Jeff and Zeph were also in a band called Milligram for a while. The CD called This is Class War is absolutely amazing if you can find it. [Milligram] had Jonah the singer from Only Living Witness and Darryl from Slapshot/Roadsaw playing guitar. That cd is so good it STILL makes me jealous! You can download the whole Milligram album This is Class War for free, which is a pretty sweet deal! That website has that whole album, plus the EP they did AND a bunch of punk rock covers.

I was in another band for a while called Placer. Noisy arty stuff. We did one CD called Summer on Dopamine Records, a teeny indie label out of Boston. You can find the Placer album on iTunes. Even if you don’t want to buy it, you can hear little samples of the songs. I played steel guitar in that band. Oddly enough, when I quit that band, Jeff (guitarist of Stompbox) too over my spot on steel.

If you want to hear what Slower sounded like, Jeff’s got a homemade video up on YouTube. The sound is from a radio show we did, and you get to hear me totally flub the second line of the song. Slower was in many ways the opposite of Stompbox. Stompbox was music that made us laugh with words that were brooding and self indulgent, while Slower was words that made us laugh with music that was self indulgent! Jeff also did a pretty cool video for “Jake Song” with the original demo track we did. It [can be found] on YouTube too.

These days Erich’s living in Los Angeles. I don’t really know what he’s doing for sure, I think he runs sound in clubs.

I had pretty much dropped out of the music biz after Slower dissolved. I decided that maybe it would be fun to find out what it was like to have money to live on. As it turns out, it’s pretty cool!

I live in Toledo now, and am a stay at home dad. In fact, until about a year ago, we were living in Lakewood, not too far from were you are, I guess. I used to go to My Minds Eye a lot. Cool record store. Bent Crayon too. I wasn’t a huge fan of Cleveland in general, but I REALLY liked Lakewood. In fact I kind of miss it, which I didn’t think I would when we moved.

The real story about the departure from the record label:

The deal with Columbia was that our A&R person left and went to Maverick. That left us at Columbia with nobody who really cared much about us, so we were sort of in limbo. Finally, we asked them (Columbia) if they’d let us (Stompbox) go with no strings attached, and they said “Sure!” Mary (the A&R person from Columbia who went to Maverick) wanted us to come over to Maverick with her, but this was all happening at the same time as we were getting ready to kick Erich out of the band. After we booted him, she kind of took it personally and said “Oh, well f— you too” and signed the Deftones. (as it turns out, that was a good move…in fact, I still have to say that they were a pretty cool band. I don’t know if they are STILL a cool band, cause that sort of thing can change over time…)

Thoughts about the unofficial Stompbox MySpace Page:

That MySpace thing is pretty funny. I don’t know who started it, but it’s pretty crazy that so many people even remember us. On the list of Stompbox’s friends, we (the individual former members of the band) are the top four friends. It makes me feel important. (har har)

Videos:

So there you have it. That was a greatly appreciated dose of information from the source itself. Patrick, props to you for offering to tell your side of the story.

Derek Hess, Emo, Hip Hop, Interview, Mash-Up, Music, Punk, Reunion, Rock, Screamo

Trever Keith vs. Me – An interview with Face To Face front man Trever Keith

1 October, 2008 Brian Mc 2 Comments

Any fan of punk rock music has probably heard of a certain SoCal punk rock band called Face To Face. Formed by Trever Keith in 1991 the band gained commercial success with their ideal punk rock style and soon achieved commercial success. Trever Keith was the only original member to stick through the good times and bad times and sadly the band decided to call it quits in 2003

With the decision to go their separate ways Trever Keith did not stop there. He continued on with his passion for music and started recording solo material as well as maintained his own record label. On top of that he worked on other band projects including Legion Of Doom, a mash-up project of out of this world proportions. He is without a doubt one of the busiest punk rockers out there and it not willing to call it quits anytime soon.

Recently I learned that Face To Face had reunited for a small tour and possibly more. I decided to get in touch with Trever Keith to ask him some questions of his past, present, and future. Trever Keith was more than happy to take time out of his busy day and answer some questions for me.

B: So I guess my first question would have to be what finally prompted Face To Face (F2F) to reunite for a few tours? I remember reading an interview a while back that you did not think it was going to happen.

TK: Scott [Shiflett] and I missed it and the offers started getting a lot more interesting.

Any specific offers in general?

Bamboozle 08 in Los Angeles was the clincher.

Who is all playing alongside you when you tour?

Scott of course. Sometimes Chad Yaro (depending on his availability, LA area shows are the most likely) and Danny Thompson on drums.

Any chance of expanding the tour? I see that F2F is playing some shows in California in November as well as a few select dates overseas in 2009.

As long as there is an interest from fans, we will be back out playing shows. We’re not looking at being back out on the road full time for F2F, but we are definitely planning some more stuff for 2009. We’ll just see how it goes.

Does this reunion tour mean there is a possibility that F2F might be back to record new material?

I suppose there is a remote chance. Although there are no plans.

Any real reason why F2F ultimately called it quits?

A desire to try some other projects and a sense that we had really run our course as a band. We didn’t want to overstay our welcome. But the fans have proved that the reality of that is completely the opposite. So we’re back as long as there is a demand.

Enough about F2F, let’s talk about you and your continuing vision with music. Even after the band departed you continued forward. You released a solo album on your own record label. Can you tell me a little bit about both?

I have a label called Antagonist. I had an indie distribution deal that was a complete disaster. I’m out of it now. My plans for Antagonist are sort of changing with the landscape, but I at least know it’s a place for me to release my own music in the future.

My debut solo record was in limited release but is currently not available. I had initially had it available for download for $5.00 on my website and I pressed up about 1,000 limited edition CDs for sale only at shows.

These were things I wanted to do for the core fans. I am looking at an “official” release for early/mid 2009.

Will your “official” solo release be under your label or has anyone else shown interest is having it on their label?

There is interest, but it will be an Antagonist release regardless of whether I’m involved with another label or not.

You toured in support of your solo release. How were the shows you played at? Were there a lot of old school punkers there checking you out? Were a lot of people asking about the band you used to front?

Most of the shows were amazing. They were small sized clubs. Some were better attended than others but most of the time that really didn’t matter. The people that came were so cool. I made a point of hanging out a bit after every show and it was really something special. Many of these people are F2F fans but also really appreciated the work I am doing on my own and that was really the point of this small club tour; to really just get out there for the die hard fans and get the music to them first. Now my challenge is spreading it to a bigger audience.

Any plans for a second solo release?

Sure but give me a chance to promote this one properly first!

What is Viva Death all about?

It was a project that Scott and I thought up about 5 years ago. The first record was really a joint effort but on the second record it started to become more of Scott’s thing. He is just now finishing up the third Viva Death record which from what I’ve heard so far is amazing. He played all of the instruments on this one, even drums. It’s really a testament to what an amazing musician Scott is. You can check out his MySpace for more info. www.myspace.com/vivadeathmusic

I have read about a possible other project in the works as well called Pablum? Not much is known about them. Anything you might like to share?

Pablum is just an early name for my solo effort. I decided to go with my own name for simplicity.

How did you become involved with mashing up songs in Legion Of Doom?

Chad Blinman is a longtime friend. I sort of convinced him to start this mash-up thing while him and I had some downtime. We really started digging in and get hooked into the project. We decided to give ourselves a name and some soundtrack and remix work followed. It’s a project that is an amazing creative outlet for us that is unlike anything else we’re involved in. It’s something I look forward to doing for a long time. There are many ideas in the works for Legion of Doom.

Where did the idea come from to do such a thing, mash up emo/punk songs and even add a little hip-hop action? I admit the first time I heard it I was hooked?

Well I’d be lying if I said it was all my idea. I was doing some work with Darren Doane at the time and we always had this knack for discussing all sorts of crazy ideas for projects and stuff. He had this idea to do DJ style mash-ups of emo/hardcore bands. Since he’s in film and music videos he didn’t really have the know how to pull off such an idea so I ran with it.

The CD Incorporated is out of print and pretty much impossible to find. Do you think you would ever consider re-releasing it?

Face To Face is back...but for how long??? — Face To Face might just be touring at a city near you.

We don’t have the permission from labels or publishers to release the CD, so probably not. Come to think of it, who made those first CDs anyway?

So you had nothing to do with the CD being released or do you have no comment? Haha.

No comment.

What is your favorite mash-up so far that you have helped create? I personally love the Coheed vs. Senses Fail mash-up called “Devil In A Blue Dress”. It seems like the two songs were meant to be mashed.

Destroy All Vampires [My Chemical Romance vs. A Static Lullaby mash-up]

Just curious on how Cleveland artist Derek Hess was recruited to draw up the cover for the CD?

That was another Darren Doane connection. I met Derek through Darren.

A couple of the Legion Of Doom songs were featured in movies such as Saw II and Resident Evil: Extinction. Any plans on having more mixes pop up in future movies?

I’d love to. Nothing confirmed at the moment. The last thing we did for a film is a placement in the movie Pathology which just came out on DVD.

Eyes Front is a movie released on Antagonist Films. Any relation to your own Antagonist Records Label? What all did you contribute to the film? Is this just the beginning of you working a little more in depth with a movie?

Antagonist Films is the same company as Antagonist Records. The Legion of Doom did all of the original music for the film and I was a producer on the film. I would love to do more work in film, but I’m not currently involved in any projects at the moment.

How did you land the role of producing the movie (Eyes Front)? Have you had previous experience producing film?

Again Darren Doane was the one who got me involved with the film. I have had no previous experience.

Speaking of movies it seems like you take samples from older movies and add them to the mix, how do you come across some of those?

There are websites with such material. Just gotta know where to look.

Have you seen any of the fan made videos of Legion Of Doom mash-ups on YouTube? What do you think about your fans creating them?

One of the most satisfying things about creating something is knowing that people really get it. Seeing those music videos to me is proof that people out there are really getting what we’re doing and they’re taking it up a level by adding their own creativity. It’s a humbling experience.

What is next for Legion Of Doom? Would you/have you considered touring? Will there be another CD released?

We’re getting ready to release an entire album of new original material.

When you look at all that you have accomplished musically, how does that make you feel? Any advise to share with anyone looking to be successful in a musical career whether it be creating or remixing?

I have mixed emotions. On the one hand, I feel lucky to have had some success and I am proud of the body of work I have created. And on the other hand I want to achieve more both as an artist and performer. The only advice I could give is you have to be relentless.

What’s next for Trever Keith?

World domination.

Look for Trever Keith’s official release of his solo album in early/mid 2009. For more information about what cities Face To Face is touring or to check out all the projects Trever Keith is currently involved in check out the following links:

www.facetofacemusic.com www.treverkeith.com www.the-legion-of-doom.com